We have reached April – the month of the NFL Draft – and the rush of free agency is essentially over at this point. It’s time to start looking toward the draft. The Los Angeles Chargers had a quiet free agency, due in part to tight cap, but there also were not that many holes in the roster that needed filling to begin with. This remains true going into the Draft, but there are still a few spots that need dealing with – or at least, where they need to draft ahead of time for the future. Let’s look through the list of top Los Angeles Chargers draft priorities by position.
Top Los Angeles Chargers Draft Priorities
Speedy Wide Receiver
There is a need at wide receiver – but not a general need. The Chargers already have three starting wideouts in Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and Josh Palmer. Two of them are top-20 receivers, and all three have their strengths. The problem is, only one of them (Allen) is consistently good at getting separation (Williams makes up for it by being a jump ball specialist), and none of them are fast enough to take the top off the defense. Most recently, Jalen Guyton and Tyron Johnson played that deep threat role for Justin Herbert, but Johnson is gone and Guyton is a free agent and has not been re-signed (possibly due to not having fully recovered from his ACL tear last year yet).
There is also the fact that Allen and Williams are both taking up a sizable portion of the salary cap by themselves ($66 million combined in 2024 after restructures), so one of them may be on the way out in the next year or two. So the Chargers need both a deep threat – and someone who can step into a bigger role when either Allen or Williams is gone (and Guyton isn’t the guy to do the latter).
This ought to be addressed in the first or second round, especially given that this is a bit of a thin receiver class. Possible candidates include Jordan Addison and Zay Flowers – both undersized but fast. If Quentin Johnson falls to the Chargers at 21, he would also be a great pick for the future, given his all-around abilities. Jalin Hyatt is another candidate that is fast and less undersized – he may be more of a one-trick pony, but he would fill the Chargers’ need at deep threat nicely.
Tight End
Gerald Everett had a decent year in 2022, but he isn’t looking like the long-term solution at tight end. He still has a year left on his contract, and the Chargers should take advantage of a strong tight end class in the 2023 Draft while they can. It is such that they could wait until the second round and still be in good shape; which is probably the better idea anyway given more urgent needs. It would be difficult to be upset if they took Dalton Kincaid or Michael Mayer in the first round, but that pick is probably better used elsewhere. Options that could be available in the second round (maybe even the third round) include Luke Musgrave, Darnell Washington, and Sam LaPorta.
Defensive Lineman
The defensive line was improved in 2022 but was still not quite where the team wants it to be. Part of that was due to injuries, but it’s quite possible the Chargers could want an upgrade on that front. The Chargers are starting to get seen as a candidate to take Calijah Kancey in the first round. I think the need to ensure Herbert has adequate weapons to push the ball down the field is greater, but as much as Kancey is getting hyped as a lesser version of Aaron Donald, it’d be hard to be upset. Other possibilities that could be available in the second or third round include Keeanu Benton, Siaki Ika (less likely to last past Round 2), and Mazi Smith.
Running Back
Austin Ekeler requesting a trade added a sudden question mark at running back. Ekeler seemingly hasn’t gotten any takers yet who will pay him what he’s asking (he’s 28 and getting close to the point where most running backs start to regress). But if he gets traded, running back would become the top priority for the Chargers, and it wouldn’t even be close. There is no one currently on the roster that could step into a starting role – Isaiah Spiller looks like a bust, and Joshua Kelley is a solid third-down back but that’s about it. Even if Ekeler doesn’t get traded this year, they still need somebody to take over in the future.
If Ekeler gets traded before the Draft, this would be a situation where the Chargers taking a halfback in the first round – specifically Bijan Robinson – would be justified. Taking running backs in the first round is not popular these days, but Robinson seems to be a generational talent, and the need would be great enough for the Chargers that an exception to that unwritten rule would make sense.
Options in the second or third round include Jahmyr Gibbs, Zach Charbonnet, and Zach Evans. Solid options later on would be Kenny McIntosh and Deuce Vaughn, both of whom are not dissimilar to Ekeler (Vaughn has been compared more to former Chargers Darren Sproles). At any rate, the Chargers need to strike gold this time – they can’t afford another bust at this point. How high a priority this position is depends on whether Ekeler gets traded before Draft Day or not (or is expected to be traded), but it is needed regardless.
Other
Safety would be a good mid-to-late option to fill in. Nasir Adderley retired (and probably wasn’t going to be re-signed anyway), and though the Chargers are pursuing John Johnson in free agency to start at free safety, the only other adequate option is Alohi Gilman. He’s shown he could probably fill the spot as a starter if necessary, but the complete lack of depth behind Derwin James or Gilman indicates a need – albeit a less urgent one – to be filled there.
Elsewhere, edge is another position where they should be looking to the future – they don’t need a Day One starter here, but Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa have a similar cap situation to Allen and Williams at wide receiver, and one of those two will probably be gone in 2024 or 2025. Bringing in somebody good enough to start in a year or two would be a good idea.
In Conclusion
The Chargers don’t have many starting spots to fill in the Draft – most of the work here is drafting for the future. While there are some strong defensive options they could take in the first round or two, the priority should be getting a more dynamic weapon or two for Herbert. It is also critical that, whatever they round they take a running back in, they get the right one this time. Beyond that, most of their needs (except maybe defensive lineman – that would be the best defensive position to fill in the first few rounds, especially given the solid-looking class) are more depth-related. The defense has their issues, but they are capable of holding their own against non-elite offenses. Ensuring the offense is more dynamic and explosive should be the priority here, however that manifests itself.
Main Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
