After the Chargers parted ways with quarterback Philip Rivers earlier this offseason, Tyrod Taylor moved up to the No. 1 spot on the depth chart.
After losing out in the sweepstakes for Tom Brady and choosing not to pursue a free agent like Cam Newton or Jameis Winston, coach Anthony Lynn made it clear that Taylor’s “in the driver’s seat” to start, yet they’re still “looking at everybody”.
While it’s clear that Taylor would be the Week 1 starter after bypassing the veteran quarterbacks, many believe that Los Angeles is going to pick a signal-caller with the No. 6 overall selection in the upcoming draft.
Even though the majority of the mock drafts have the Bolts going that direction in the first-round, could there be the possibility of them electing to not address the position at all?
In Monday’s Football Morning in America, Peter King reports that Lynn is “legitimately bullish” on Taylor and that he could see him running the offense for more than one year.
King also added that a source told him general manager Tom Telesco likes former Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert and calls Telesco a “top-five G.M. poker-player” when it comes to the draft.
Taylor and Lynn are very familiar with one another.
Taylor played for Lynn during his first two years with the Bills. He made the Pro Bowl in 2015 while Lynn was the running backs coach, and 2016 with him as the team’s offensive coordinator where he finished 7-6 as the starting quarterback.
However, the 30-year old only has one more year remaining on his contract. If they bank on him, choose to pass on a quarterback in the draft and he doesn’t pan out, they will be starting from ground zero.
Picking in the top-10 for only the third time in the past 15 years, the Chargers are in a prime position to land one of the “Big 3” – Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, Oregon’s Justin Herbert or Utah State’s Jordan Love.
While drafting one of these three would be the most ideal situation for the future of the franchise, there’s still a scenario that Los Angeles could forgo selection a quarterback and put all their support behind Taylor as a bone fide starter and not just a bridge.
Only time will tell.