The Los Angeles Chargers hold the fifth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft order, providing Jim Harbaugh and Joe Hortiz with a wide variety of options. While there is an opportunity to grab one of the elite wide receiver prospects, it appears few around the NFL believe that’s likely to happen.
Wide receiver is one of the most glaring Chargers draft needs in 2024 and the top of this year’s class features three elite talents in Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze. Either pass-catcher would provide quarterback Justin Herbert with a future All-Pro wide receiver, filling a massive void left by the departures of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.
However, Harbaugh has also been sending a pretty clear message to the rest of the NFL this offseason. With so many quarterback-needy teams, the Chargers’ coach has expressed his belief that the fifth overall pick is equivalent to a No. 1 overall pick. It’s just part of the draft strategy that NFL insiders believe Harbaugh is using to influence what happens atop the 2024 NFL Draft.
While there is a strong clamoring from Chargers fans on Reddit and Twitter to see Nabers or Harrison Jr. brought to Los Angeles, it appears many inside the league believe Harbaugh and Hortiz will take things in another direction.
During an appearance on Saturday’s SportsCenter, ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler reported that people around the league believe both the Chargers and Arizona Cardinals are looking to trade down and ‘sell high’ on their top picks. However, as of now, the expectation is that only Los Angeles might actually pull the trigger on a deal.
“Chargers and Cardinals are trying to sell high; high interest rate. Most teams I’ve talked to expect one of these two teams to trade back and it might be more momentum with the Chargers right now because they have a lot of needs trying to re-establish an identity under [new head coach] Jim Harbaugh. So, they’re looking to potentially move out. I’ve talked to teams who say they very much want to move out, maybe get an offensive lineman or a wide receiver later in the top 10-12 somewhere.”
Jeremy Fowler on the Los Angeles Chargers desire to trade down in the 2024 NFL Draft
Also Read: Revisiting NFL Draft classes for Jim Harbaugh, Joe Hortiz
If the Chargers are trading down from No. 5 overall, there is value to the idea given the depth of the 2024 NFL Draft class. Los Angeles currently has one of the thinnest rosters in the NFL, creating a longer list of Chargers draft needs than some other teams around the league.
However, even if four quarterbacks are taken with the first five picks, Los Angeles won’t move down so far that it takes itself out of the mix for a blue-chip talent at a position of need. Realistically, the lowest the team might be willing to go is the 13th overall pick and even that means trading with the division rival Las Vegas Raiders and providing them with a potential franchise-caliber quarterback. However, there are a few scenarios that make sense.
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