San Diego Chargers Benefit From Draft Trades
By Andrew Long
It’s likely quarterbacks will go numbers one and two in the 2016 NFL Draft, which leaves the door open for the San Diego Chargers to select the best player in the draft class with the third overall selection.
The San Diego Chargers had one of their worst years in recent history last season, as the injury riddled roster only managed to secure a record of 4-12, meaning they were the third worst team in the NFL. While losing is never the goal, it is my opinion that the team, which I believe is much better than their 2015 record indicates, will ultimately benefit from the down year – the high draft slot being the reason.
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Sitting at number three behind the Tennessee Titans and the Cleveland Browns, it was possible the Chargers would miss out on the top two players in the draft. Then something happened, the Titans and Browns both opted to deal their draft picks to teams in the hunt for franchise quarterbacks.
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Many people look at the teams involved in the trades to decide who’s the winner and the loser, but, if you ask me, San Diego is the team who truly wins here, and they weren’t even involved in the trades.
I say this because the Chargers are now all but guaranteed to lock up a franchise player at number three, something that may or may not have happened if the Titans and Browns stayed put atop the 2016 NFL Draft. With that no longer being the case, San Diego will likely secure the player that they view as the best player in the class. Jared Goff and Carson Wentz will presumably be selected one and two, leaving the Chargers to select from a slew of talented prospects like Joey Bosa, Laremy Tunsil, DeForest Buckner, and Jalen Ramsey.
Having the opportunity to select from that group, at number three, is truly great for the San Diego Chargers. If Tennessee and Cleveland stayed put at numbers one and two, it’s possible a combination of Bosa, Tunsil, and Ramsey would be gone, leaving the Chargers somewhat obligated to choose the remaining prospect. In that scenario, San Diego would still score a top three talent, but not necessarily the one they would prefer.
However, with the first two picks in the 2016 NFL Draft likely being quarterbacks, the Chargers, in a sense, move up the draft board to number one overall and now have the opportunity to select the best player in the draft.
I believe that Goff and Wentz are very promising prospects and could both enjoy good careers, but I don’t view them as the top two players in the draft, which leads me to believe that the Chargers are getting excellent value at number three.
With San Diego enjoying the benefit of choosing between Bosa, Tunsil, and Ramsey, I believe that they are actually the winners from all of the recent trades involving the top two selections in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Bosa is a player that would instantly upgrade their pass-rush, Tunsil would secure the left side of their offensive line for years to come, and Ramsey, in my opinion, is the best player in this year’s draft and is capable of stepping right in and making an impact.
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All in all, the San Diego Chargers should be very happy with how everything turned out, as they are now on track to shape the future of their franchise on their own terms.