Let’s get wild, people!
The Chargers are about to take on the NFL draft with a first-year head coach and general manager combination in Jim Harbaugh and Joe Hortiz. Both bring a vastly different approach to team-building and drafting than the previous regime which means that the fan base could be in store for an exciting show across the next three days.
With not much history to look back on in the name of forecasting the duo’s potential moves, I thought it’d be fun to throw out some bold predictions that I sort’ve, kind’ve believe could really happen.
Am I crazy? I guess we’ll find out here soon!
1.) The Chargers will make three trades across the three days of the draft
Jim Harbaugh and Joe Hortiz will seemingly enter their first NFL draft at the helm of the Chargers with nine total draft picks — one in each round with additional fourth and seventh-rounders. I expect the first-year general manager to try and hasten his new team’s re-tooling by nabbing as many new players as possible from the start.
The crazy part about this prediction is that I believe they could make at least three trades without one of them being in the first round. The Chargers currently have five picks within the top 110 selections. The additional fourth-round pick (#110 via Bears) could allow them the flexibility to move up and snag a coveted player who happened to fall late into the third. On the flip side, maybe they take a deal from another team who wants to move up to their first fourth-rounder (#105). They have the second just five picks later and maybe they nab an additional fifth. It happens every year and I trust Hortiz to jump on those opportunities should they present themselves.
I have a feeling the Chargers could be most active on day three and that includes going into the sixth and seventh rounds. When they get into “dart throw” territory, I could very well see them work the phones to trade back and gather even more picks to help fill out the shallow roster.
2.) The Chargers will double-dip at two different positions
The Chargers haven’t truly double-dip in the draft since 2019 when they picked a pair of defensive tackles in Jerry Tillery and Cortez Broughton. I stress the “truly” part because the Chargers have drafted two wideouts in two separate seasons since the 2019 draft but I’d argue Joe Reed (2020) and Derius Davis (2023) were picked as pure return men as opposed to being legitimate receiver depth at the time.
This week, I could see the Chargers drafting two players at several positions, including wide receiver, cornerback, and linebacker. Depth at all three positions are super shallow when it comes to bodies, experience, or both. If I had to actually pick the two positions, I would say they draft two players at both corner and off-ball linebacker. The first because they have seemingly no suitable starter apart from Asante Samuel Jr. and that includes the recently-signed Kristian Fulton who is coming off one of his worst-graded seasons by Pro Football Focus. The latter because there are only four bodies in the entire room with veteran Denzel Perryman being the best of the bunch.
Heck, if they somehow manage to double-dip at all three of these positions, remember where you heard it first.
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