Chargers News: Falcons identified as perfect trade-down partner

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Good morning, Chargers fans!

If you were looking for the perfect soundbite from the Combine, pure music to the ears of the Bolt Fam, it’s right here for you:

Mr. Morris, you are completely correct – it’s time to upgrade that QB room.

The Falcons are an interesting trade partner, because they represent a small slide down the draft order for the Chargers, but a necessary move up for the Falcons as they would leapfrog over the QB-needy New York Giants. This is how bidding wars happen, and it greatly benefits Joe Hortiz’s negotiating strength.

An interesting wrinkle to monitor would be whether or not the Falcons elect to use their fifth-year option on Kyle Pitts. Pitts had a standout rookie season for the Falcons, but after tearing his MCL in Week 11 of the 2022 season, he hasn’t delivered the impact the Falcons desired when selecting him 4th overall in 2021.

Exercising the fifth-year option on Pitts will cost $10,878,000 against the cap. Originally, this move looked like a perfect pairing for both sides, as the Falcons traded for Jonnu Smith last year who essentially operated as TE1b and looked capable of carrying the mantle should Pitts be traded. However, Smith was released by Atlanta yesterday… which should catch the attention of Joe Hortiz, as Jonnu Smith would fill a need on the Chargers roster without impacting the compensatory formula.

However, in this trade-down scenario, Hortiz could seek the incredibly high-ceiling of Kyle Pitts as a another post-hype player. The Bears modeled this kind of trade-down last year by adding an electric playmaker in D.J. Moore while also bolstering extra draft capital; including a talented veteran in a trade down reduces the risk of “losing” the trade by missing on the selections you received with your trade capital. In this situation, Atlanta could send #8, #74, and Pitts to the Chargers for #5. The Chargers would effectively be using #5 to fill two starting holes in their roster… or potentially more if they traded down again.

What do you think of this scenario, BFTB family?

And now for today’s links:

Chargers News:

Are the Falcons a dream trade-down partner for the Chargers? (Bolt Beat)

Omar Navarro monitors the various Chargers mock drafts from the media (Chargers.com)

Jesse Minter sat down with the Hayley Elwood to discuss the outlook for the 2024 defense (Chargers.com)

The Chargers had a formal meeting with Trevin Wallace (Chargers Wire)

NFL News:

Lance Zierlein ranks the top-ten teams most likely to draft a quarterback (Chargers.com)

The Chiefs plan on spending $800 million renovating Arrowhead stadium (NFL.com)

Chiefs ranked 31st in NFLPA grading despite winning back-to-back Super Bowls (Yahoo Sports)

Trevin Wallace highlighted as one of six potential draft steals (CBS Sports)

Football Zebras gives an update on the offseason plans for NFL officiating (Football Zebras)

Mike Florio indicates that executives around the NFL are still disappointed in George Pickens’ lack of professionalism (Steelers Depot)