4 major draft analysts tab Alabama RT to Chargers in final mock drafts

JC Latham would help fix the Chargers’ run game, but is his selection at number five far too high for where he’s expected to go?

The first round of the 2024 NFL Draft is set to begin in less than 12 hours from now and the suspense surrounding what the Chargers will inevitably do with the fifth-overall pick is coming to a head. Things really started to shake up this morning as three of the biggest names in the draft community all dropped their final first-round mock drafts with each one picking the same exact player for the Chargers.

That player? No, it’s not Joe Alt, Marvin Harrison Jr., or Malik Nabers.

ESPN’ Field Yates, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, along with NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah and Peter Schrager, all have the Bolts selecting Alabama right tackle JC Latham at No. 5. After weeks of Notre Dame’s Joe Alt essentially being the only offensive tackle mocked to the Chargers should they stick-and-pick, Latham has made a huge jump from being a mid-round first to a top-five selection.

For what it’s worth, Latham has been mocked to the Chargers before but it’s almost solely been when a mocker has them trading back, most often with the Vikings to acquire No. 11 and No. 23. That’d be the ideal way to go about Latham. Not many analysts, if at all, have believed Latham was a lock to go in the top-10. He’s mainly been tabbed as the third offensive tackle behind Alt and Penn State’s Olu Fashanu.

While Latham certainly fits the mold of what Jim Harbaugh wants in an offensive lineman who could immediately impact the team’s run game, using the fifth pick on him doesn’t align with everything Joe Hortiz has said about his best-player-available approach. To roughly quote Hortiz again, he admitted that drafting solely for need can cause teams to move players about their board out of a sense of desperation. He wants to avoid those missteps, which solidifies his stance on BPA even further.

Schrager went as far as to say in his mock that “Harbaugh doesn’t care about your draft board” but Harbaugh is not the one calling the shots on draft day. Hortiz has already stated he is the one making the final decisions as he is playing the role of Batman during the offseason with Harbaugh in the Robin role until the season officially starts.

But let’s just say for the sake of things, Latham does end up being the pick for the Chargers later tonight. What kind of player are they getting?

Well, he’s widely regarded as the best run-blocker in the entire class and some have said he’d push for the strongest player at his position, as well. At 6’6 and 342 pounds, he’s at least a mountain of a man with massive 11-inch hands that help him snatch and trap defensive players. Latham has started 27 games over the past two seasons and was named a Second-Team All-American in 2023 after helping Alabama reach the College Football Playoff.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein calls Latham a “bulldozer in human form” who has the build of an offensive guard with the athleticism to protect like a tackle. He can dish out some serious power in his hands, even when defensive lineman are expecting to be popped, but that doesn’t come at the sake of some finesse. He has an elite level of control over his punches and he doesn’t often get caught two-hand punching at the wrong time, instead preferring to keep his hands disconnected and ready for anything.