The Chargers entered this year’s free agency window with limited room for salary caps, and given the circumstances, they’ve had a productive March.
They re-signed several key internal free agents, including right tackle Trey Pipkins III, defensive lineman Morgan Fox, tight end Donald Parham Jr. and punter JK Scott. All of these players returned to very reasonable deals. They also signed former Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks to replace Drue Tranquill, who has signed a one-year contract with the Chiefs.
With those moves, the Chargers are on the verge of solidifying their starting units for 2023. You must add a returnee. They could add a safety to compete with Alohi Gilman for the second safety spot alongside Derwin James Jr. They could add another slot defender to compete with Ja’Sir Taylor for the nickel starting position. But if the season started today, the Chargers would have capable players in all 22 starting ranks on offense and defense. And now the priority becomes building depth.
The roster situation makes the Chargers’ draft strategy quite interesting to decipher. They could go in a number of directions with their first-round pick at No. 21. Receiver, tight end, and edge rusher are the most obvious depth requirements. However, there are a few wildcard players the Chargers could target depending on how certain factors unfold — such as Austin Ekeler’s contract situation.
What are the Chargers doing at 21? Here’s a big board with 14 players, which I think are the most likely options based on roster requirements and how the first round is likely to turn out.
GO DEEPER
2023 Los Angeles Chargers NFL Draft Guide: Tips, Predictions, and Important Requirements
wide receiver
Jordan Addison, USC
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State
Quentin Johnson, TCU
Zay Flowers, Boston College
Jalin Hyatt, Tennessee
The Chargers don’t have much depth of reception behind their top trio of Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Joshua Palmer. The only other two receivers on the list are John Hightower and Keelan Doss, who have combined 22 regular-season receptions in their careers. Even if the Chargers can bring back DeAndre Carter as a returnee and a fourth or fifth receiver, they still need to add a receiver on Day 1 or 2. I think Receiver is firmly on the table at 21. The missing element in the room now is explosiveness. Allen, Williams and Palmer are all good receivers, but the Chargers don’t currently have that field stretch — horizontal or vertical — on the list. For the past two seasons, Chargers receivers have ranked 18th in yards by catch per reception at 4.16, according to TruMedia. Explosiveness would also help in this area.
Among those five recipients, Johnson, Flowers, and Hyatt offer the rawest explosiveness. Flowers ran a 4.42-40-yard dash at the combine, despite being short at 5-foot-9-1/4. Hyatt ran a 4.40. Johnson’s height of 6ft 3, 208lbs is more in line with the type of receivers the Chargers typically prefer. But he’s raw.
Addison ran a 4.49 at the combine. But as our Dane Brugler wrote in his prospect leaderboard, “Addison skillfully combines his game speed, suddenness and concentration as a route runner to create distance and create opportunities to run after catch.” Smith-Njiba projects more as a slot technician in the shape of all.
USC’s Jordan Addison would give the Chargers the element of speed their offense badly needs at receiver. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
tight ends
Dalton Kincaid, Utah
Michael Mayer, Notre Dame
Darnell Washington, Georgia
The Chargers bring back their top four tight ends in Gerald Everett, Parham, Tre’ McKitty and Stone Smartt. But they’ll likely employ more 12 staffers in Kellen Moore’s new plan, and they envision an offense that really maximizes the discrepancies that tight ends can create. Right now, I don’t think the Chargers have the staff to make the vision a reality, both in terms of reception and blocking. The Chargers tight ends struggled to consistently block in the running game last season, and that was a big factor in the rushing attack’s overall struggles. Kincaid would be a choice for the transient offense. He is a dynamic move tight end. As blockers, Mayer and Washington would have greater impact on the ongoing game. Washington, at 6ft 7, 280 pounds, is “a gun as a blocker,” according to Brugler. Mayer is the best all-around option that can impact play as a pass catcher and blocker.
Edge rusher
Myles Murphy, Clemson
Luke van Ness, Iowa
Nolan Smith, Georgia
Will McDonald IV, State of Iowa
With Kyle Van Noy still on the open market, the Chargers have a big hole in their edge-rushing depth. Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack are studs. But as we all saw last season, depth is particularly important at this position. Expecting full 17-game seasons from both Bosa and Mack is unrealistic. Bosa only made four starts last season due to a torn groin. Having a young, talented, rising edge rusher as the third man in this rotation would at least provide security. Murphy could be off the board by the time the Chargers pick. Van Ness is an interesting piece that can rush off the edge as well as inside. Smith had one of the most epic Combine performances in recent memory, and Brandon Staley has always had an affinity for Kirby Smart’s Georgia program and defense system.
The wild cards
Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas
Brian Branch, DB, Alabama
In what situation would the Chargers not pick a tight end, wide receiver, or edge rusher? I have two options for you: Robinson and Branch.
The Robinson talk feels dependent on what happens with Ekeler’s contract situation. Ekeler is in the final year of his deal and has received permission to seek a trading partner. If the Chargers trade Ekeler before the draft, then running back becomes the number one need on the roster, and it would make a lot of sense to draft an elite prospect like Robinson — maybe a top-five player in that class — (as long as he It is). accessible). If the Chargers feel like they can work out a short-term extension with Ekeler to put him on the field in 2023, then drafting Robinson at 21 makes less sense to me. I just think there are more important needs that need to be addressed and I like the trio of Ekeler, Joshua Kelley and Isaiah Spiller.
For Staley, Drafting Branch would boil down to simple team-building strategy: you can never have enough defenders. Some of the words Brugler included in his branch scouting report are Staley catchphrases:
• “Ability to play any position in secondary school”
• “Defensive Back Versatility”
• “Instinct and Tenacity”
Additionally, Branch projects himself into the slot as an instant starter who can make an impact as a coverage player and defender. The fit makes sense, and the slot defender is more under the radar for the Chargers unless they bring back Bryce Callahan, who started there in 2022 but is now a free agent. Branch could also potentially challenge Gilman for the second safety spot.
(Top Photo by Bijan Robinson: Stacy Revere/Getty Images)