The Super Bowl is over and the NFL offseason is underway. With that being said, teams are fully transitioning into looking at draft prospects. The Chargers are no exception to that thought process. Picking at 22 overall, the Bolts are prepared to upgrade their roster with more young talent in the second year of the Jim Harbaugh era.
Last year was a hit draft, with many top-end talents like Joe Alt & Ladd McConkey and late-round picks like Cam Hart & Tarheeb Still making a name for themselves.
Joe Hortiz and the Chargers’ front office look to build on last year’s success with another good draft. Yes, they don’t have a top-five pick again, but stars are taken at any point in the draft. With that in mind, here is this season’s first mock draft, five rounds of prospects at positions the Chargers need to upgrade this year.
Pick No. 22: EDGE Jalon Walker – Georgia
Jalon Walker is a game-wrecker and is without a doubt the type of guy Jim Harbaugh wants headlining his front seven. College offensive lines couldn’t stop Walker on the edge. Notably, he was elite at stopping the run, something the Chargers have struggled with in recent years.
Another thing the Bolts had trouble stopping was mobile Quarterbacks. Lamar Jackson and Bo Nix (two times) ran all over the Chargers and it gave them a three-dimensional offense. Especially with the Broncos poised to break out next season, someone needs to be able to slow Nix down on the ground. Currently, EDGE isn’t a huge issue for the Bolts. However, it is a position they need to upgrade for the future.
Joey Bosa is showing signs of regression and Khalil Mack is a free agent while also being at the tail end of his career. Whether they bring both of these guys back or not, pairing Jalon Walker alongside Tuli Tuipulotu would do wonders for the Chargers defense.
Pick No. 55: RB Omarion Hampton – UNC
The Chargers are expected to take a Back somewhat high in this draft. They waited last year for this deep RB class. There are many options to pair with Justin Harbert in the backfield, but Omarion Hampton may be the best.
JK Dobbins is currently a Free Agent, and even if he does re-sign, he doesn’t have too much time before his extended injury history catches up to him. The Chargers should take a Running Back as good as Hampton here. All good Jim Harbaugh teams had good RBs playing integral roles in the offense.
Notably, Frank Gore was a staple for the 49er teams Harbaugh and Roman had. The 2024 Michigan National Championship team had a dynamic run game with Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards (who is also a name to watch in this draft). Harbaugh has a chance to replicate that by giving Justin Herbert Hampton to hand the ball off to. Hampton ran over 1,600 yards in UNC last season, third in College Football just behind Ashton Jeanty and Cam Skattebo. His agility and vision could help him be elite behind this Chargers line with just a few upgrades.
Pick No. 86: TE Mason Taylor – LSU
The Bolts need help at Tight End more than almost any other position. Will Dissly exceeded expectations last year, adding a solid receiving ability to his resume. However, Dissly is not consistent enough to be this team’s TE1. A lot of Justin Herbert’s best passes all season were for Dissly and many of them were dropped.
While L.A. could continue to use Dissly’s elite blocking skills, they need to upgrade the position when it comes to pass-catching. Greg Roman’s best years with Baltimore featured Mark Andrews as one of the best TEs in the league. Therefore, it makes too much sense to take TE high in this draft.
Mason Taylor is widely considered a top-three TE prospect this season. Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland are generational talents, but Taylor is a great-value pick in the third round. He averaged around 10 yards per reception his entire collegiate career and caught for 500 yards last season with Kyren Lacy going for 800. More notably, he went for 400 with Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. accounting for over two thousand yards in 2023.
Greg Roman offenses are simple: rely on the run game and use a star TE & solid receiving corps to stretch out the field. San Francisco had Vernon Davis. Baltimore had Mark Andrews. Los Angeles could have Mason Taylor.
Pick No. 124: CB Zy Alexander – LSU
The Chargers famously went 2/2 on late-round corners last year with Cam Hart and Tarheeb Still. They could look to do that again in this year’s draft. Standout CBs Asante Samuel Jr. and Kristian Fulton are Free Agents this offseason, so the Bolts will need to address the position in the draft if they don’t bring them back or replace them with more veterans. If they turn to the draft for more help, Zy Alexander would be a good option in the fourth round.
Alexander had two interceptions in each of his two seasons at LSU and he was one of the better players in LSU’s defensive unit. Jesse Minter had an easy time turning anything he touched into gold last year, and Alexander would likely be no exception.
Pick No. 159: OL Carson Vinson – Alabama A&M
Carson Vinson would be a good depth piece for the Chargers’ offensive line. If developed correctly, he could be a solid platoon player to have behind Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, or maybe even start at guard if he was developed better. It’s no secret that L.A.’s interior is not good.
Vinson may be the best offensive lineman available at this pick. It would make more sense to target a guy like Trey Smith or Drew Dalman in free agency than spend another high pick on OL. That’s why taking a guy like Vinson wouldn’t be much risk. The Bolts’ depth at O-line isn’t great. If one of the stars is out, Jamaree Salyer or Trey Pipkins has to move outside. Carson Vinson would provide better depth and a clean slate for Jim Harbaugh to coach.
Pick No. 177: LB Jeffrey Bassa – Oregon
Lastly, the Chargers round out their defense with a versatile prospect in Oregon’s Jeffrey Bassa. The key word here is prospect. Bassa was a beast for Oregon. However, he could be a little small for the NFL with his current dimensions. Bassa is listed at 6’2, 200 pounds. At face value, this could be a little small. However, Steelers’ star Patrick Queen is 6-foot, 230. If Bassa can just put on a bit of weight, he can be more than solid.
Ideally, he would provide a versatility comparable to Patrick Queen or Derwin James. That is unlikely, but if they could use him as a solid platoon piece at LB and Safety, it would be a home run pick. If anyone could make this pick work, it would be Jesse Minter.
