Former Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. could be headed to the Los Angeles Chargers as ... [+]
The Los Angeles Chargers are poised to draft a wide receiver with the fifth-overall pick in Thursday’s NFL draft.
Or an offensive lineman.
Or, if you believe the unbelievable, they will snag a quarterback and move on from Justin Herbert.
That’s the beauty and mystery of having a new coach and a fresh general manager in Jim Harbaugh and Joe Hortiz, respectively.
And respectively, no one knows what rabbit this tandem will pull from a hat in remaking the Chargers after their last-place finish with a 5-12 record.
Then again the Chargers could trade down the board, especially if a quarterback-hungry team is bent on grabbing one with a high ceiling early in the draft.
The Chargers, at No. 5, like where they’re at.
“There are really good players, great players, that we’re going to be staring at,’’ Hortiz said. “If we’re going to trade away from great players, there has to be a reason, in terms of value, for us...it has to make sense to you and it has to make sense to the team that is wanting to come up.’’
Most mock drafts have the Chargers taking a wide receiver, especially after they showed Keenan Allen and Mike Williams the door in the offseason. Getting a weapon to take advantage of Herbert’s rocket arm — after signing two free-agent running backs in Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins — seems like the logical move.
Ex-LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers (8) could fill the huge void the Los Angeles Chargers have at the ... [+]
With a run of quarterbacks expected at the top of the draft, the Chargers could have to pick between Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. and LSU’s Malik Nabers.
Then again they could go south on the board, gain some picks, and possibly still have a shot at Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze.
Then again, Horitz was busy sending smoke signals that the Chargers might pass on a pass-catcher, that high in the preceding.
“I said it before, I’ll say it again and I’ll say it next year and I’m going to say it five years from now: I can promise you, wide receiver is going to be a deep position in the draft every year,’’ Hortiz added.
With pass-happy colleges developing receivers at an alarming rate with the game evolving, it’s possible the Chargers look elsewhere.
The Chargers have been busy rebuilding their running game and former Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt (76) ... [+]
While not a sexy pick and certainly not a needle-mover as the Chargers try to build their fan base, just maybe Notre Dame left tackle Joe Alt is their guy.
The Chargers are set at left tackle with Rashawn Slater, but Alt could slide over to the right side and give L.A. beefy bookends well into the future to protect Herbert.
Harbaugh, and Horitz, have made it clear they are remolding L.A.’s tepid running attack. Wherever Harbaugh has hung his hat, he’s leaned on keeping the ball on the ground and getting chunk plays through the air after the run has been established.
That’s why Alt, or another offensive lineman, could be the way the Chargers go early in the draft.
What they won’t do is peddle Herbert, despite that being a rumor among the thousands of wink-wink scenarios being bandied about during what is known in the NFL as liars month.
Not only would Harbaugh be trading a record-setting Pro Bowler for a prospect, but the cap hit for the Chargers would be some $100 million.
We know the Chargers got their financial house in order with their offseason moves, but there’s no reason to go copying the Denver Broncos and the mess they are in for missing on quarterback Russell Wilson.
The Chargers are in an enviable position because they’ve been lousy. It’s a spot Harbaugh and Hortiz, if they’ve done their due diligence properly, won’t return to any time soon.
