The Los Angeles Chargers could have drafted a proven right tackle in the first-round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
The Los Angeles Chargers selected wide receiver Mike Williams with their seventh overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Williams was the wild card throughout the pre-draft process because many thought the Bolts were going to take an offensive lineman, safety or defensive tackle with that pick.
The team elected to go with Williams because they were in need of adding an insurance after Keenan Allen had been hit with two consecutive season-ending injuries.
Williams hasn’t stamped himself as one of the league’s best wideouts, but he’s improved each season and has been a reliable No. 2 for the Chargers, doing what he does best by elevating to haul in 50/50 balls down the field.
What if Los Angeles went a different route with pick No. 7? Pro Football Focus believes that they could’ve used the selection to bolster the offensive line with tackle Ryan Ramczyk.
Over the last three seasons, no tackle in the league has graded higher than Ramczyk. The scary part is that it has come in the first three seasons of his career. The learning curve that some tackles have once they get to the NFL level hasn’t existed for Ramczyk, and he was the only tackle with pass-blocking and run-blocking grades above 80.0 in 2019. The Chargers, who have had struggles on the offensive line for a decade, would welcome Ramczyk with open arms to start opposite Russell Okung and hopefully provide them some stability up front. We all know they could use it.
Viewed as one of the top-rated tackles during the pre-draft process, Ramczyk fell all the way to the last pick in the first-round, where he was taken by the New Orleans Saints. Based on his play through three seasons, he wouldn’t have fallen that far in a re-draft.
To address the trenches, the Chargers double dipped with Forrest Lamp and Dan Feeney in Round 2 and 3, respectively. Unfortunately, it hasn’t panned out in both of their professional careers to this point, but they were viewed as steals based on where they were selected.
Had Los Angeles taken Ramczyk with their first-round pick, they would have a reliable presence to protect the pocket at the right tackle position, as Ramczyk and left tackle Russell Okung would create a formidable duo up front.
The Bolts could have also selected their quarterback of the future with Patrick Mahomes or Deshaun Watson, both who were available when they were on the clock.
