Draft season is upon us ladies and gentlemen! With the NFL Draft less than a month away, I thought it would be a good time to drop a full 7 round mock; with trades! But this year, I wanted to do it a bit differently. Instead of your basic 7 round mock where you scroll through pages of picks and find your team’s selections with relatively no commentary, I decided to break the mock-up and do an article on each individual team’s haul! Giving you a breakdown of what each team brought in and how I think it could help. So without further adieu, let’s kick things off!
With the 13th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Los Angeles Chargers select…
- Rashawn Slater, OT, Northwestern(1st round)
- Eric Stokes, CB, Georgia(2nd round)
- Quincy Roche, DE, Miami(3rd round)
- Tommy Kraemer, OL, Notre Dame(3rd round)
- Talanoa Hufanga, S, USC(4th round)
- Damonte Coxie, WR, Memphis(5th round)
- Kylen Granson, TE, SMU(6th round)
- Khalil Herbert, RB, Virginia Tech(6th round)
- Jonathan Adams Jr, WR, Arkansas St(7th round)
The Chargers are a team that I actually like the core of their team. Anytime you think you have your QB of the future locked in, you are in a good position. Their biggest need is along the offensive line and they address that early!
The Chargers have the fortune of one of the top lineman falling to them. Rashawn Slater is a very good LT and has the ability to kick inside if needed. But I think the Chargers will use him as their LT of the future to protect Herbert. They also add Tommy Kraemer; a big, strong, and athletic guard to play on the inside. The combination of these two, in my opinion, is excellent. They will add high-level pass protection and help open up the run game. Later in the draft, the Chargers add some high upside, talented players to the skill position. Kylen Gransen can step in as an athletic TE that can provide a new dynamic to the offense. Damonte Coxie and Jonathan Adams are both athletic wideouts with a ton of upside. Both could come in and lineup with Keenan Allen and flourish. Lastly, they add Khalil Herbert, a back with a good all-around game that can provide quality depth at the position.
On defense, they add a fast-rising corner, Eric Stokes. Stokes blew up his pro day with a blazing 40. Stokes is a fringe 1st round prospect so landing him where they do is a tremendous value. They also add Quincy Roche, an athletic edge rusher that had an excellent 2019 season racking up 13 sacks. Lastly, they add Talanoa Hufanga, a safety with a good all-around game that can provide depth at the position.
Overall, I love the quality of players the Chargers add to their team. They add some high-value and versatile players to many different areas of the team. Slater and Stokes can make an impact immediately while the rest of their draft provides a ton of talented upside.
