Taking Charge of the NFL Draft by Grant Winsauer
This upcoming draft is crucial for the Los Angeles Chargers. They already made some excellent moves this offseason, hiring Jim Harbaugh as their new coach.
However, they have lost many offensive weapons to be salary cap compliant. They lost Mike Williams to the New York Jets and Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears in a trade that only netted them a fourth-round pick. I understand the little return with him being 31 (almost 32), but Allen has been super productive and reliable since he entered the league in 2013.
Justin Herbert’s wideouts now consist of Quentin Johnston, Joshua Palmer, and Derius Davis. You must be upset when you lose two Pro Bowl-type receivers in one off-season. The NFL is a business, but how should Herbert succeed without weapons?
The Chargers would be wise to target a No. 1 receiver with this draft's No. 5 overall pick.
Either Malik Nabers or Marvin Harrison Jr. are the two players I would consider for the Chargers to take with no. 5 overall.
According to MSN.com, starting with Nabers, he ran a 4.35 forty-yard dash at his pro day, and his quarterback Jayden Daniels (a possible top-3 pick in the draft) was hyped for him after running that time. His performance at the LSU pro day only raised his draft stock, and I thought he was already a top-10 draft pick. They will get an elite No. 1 receiver, no matter which team drafts him.
According to ESPN.com, he had 189 receptions for 3003 yards and 21 receiving touchdowns during his three years at LSU. If he gets drafted by the Chargers, it would be a good situation since they already have the quarterback situation figured out with Herbert. He wouldn’t have to worry about players in front of him hogging all the targets because none of the receivers that are there are better than Nabers talent-wise.
According to ESPN.com, Johnston only had 38 receptions on 67 targets for 431 yards and two touchdowns. As a rookie, he was the third wideout behind Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, but he did have a lot of drops throughout his rookie season. This is understandable as a rookie, but sometimes, it gets blamed on the quarterback, not the receiver. But when you have Herbert as your quarterback, it is your fault if you drop a ball.
Joshua Palmer is a good receiver but a WR4 or WR5 at best. He hasn’t been in the league long enough to be a WR2 in an offense. Palmer was drafted in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft. According to ESPN.com, he only has 1,703 yards and nine touchdowns in 44 games since being drafted.
According to ESPN.com, Davis is listed as WR3 as of right now. He was a rookie last year and only caught 15 passes on 17 targets for 66 yards and no touchdowns. I don't know what will happen if this doesn’t scream that the Chargers need receiver help.
The Chargers should also consider Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. If Harrison Jr. is available as the No. 5 pick in this upcoming draft, the Chargers should run to the podium to announce his name. A team must trade up with the Cardinals to take a quarterback for this to become a reality. The team to look out for could be the Denver Broncos, which just released Russell Wilson. Another team I could see trading up is the Minnesota Vikings. With them currently having No. 11 and No. 23 picks in the first round in this upcoming draft, it feels they are loading up to move up and select their next quarterback after losing Kirk Cousins to the Atlanta Falcons.
According to ESPN.com, during his three-year college career at Ohio St. Harrison Jr., he had 155 receptions for 2,613 yards and 31 touchdowns.
If Harrison Jr. is available at No. 5, the Chargers would be dumb not to pick up the son of a legend, especially when you look at their current room. With no one to hog targets from him, Harrison Jr. can have 1,500 yards and 10 touchdowns, given how long he has been preparing to be in the NFL.