Chargers get best player available, fill holes in Chad Reuter’s latest 4-round mock draft

Breaking down the Chargers’ picks in Chad Reuter’s latest four-round mock draft.

The Chargers have a smidge bit of leeway heading into the NFL draft after addressing a few positional needs in free agency, but there are still some critical spots on the roster that need to be filled next month.

In NFL Media’s Chad Reuter’s latest four-round mock draft, he sees Los Angeles taking the best player available at a glaring position of need in the first round and building out the depth chart the rest of the way out.

In Round 1, wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. falls in their lap.

The Cardinals, who have the No. 4 overall pick, trade back with the Vikings in this scenario. Minnesota takes their quarterback of the future in J.J. McCarthy, leaving Harrison for the taking.

With Keenan Allen and Mike Williams gone, the Bolts must add to the wideout room in the worst way.

Harrison is a bonafide star skill player with athleticism, speed, route-running savvy and elite ball skills. He would quickly develop close chemistry with Justin Herbert and boost the offense significantly.

In Round 2, L.A. takes defensive tackle Braden Fiske.

Fiske, the 6-foot-4 and 292-pounder, was a standout at the NFL Scouting Combine. He led all defensive tackles in the vertical (33.5″), broad jump (9’9), and 40-yard dash (4.78 seconds).

That immense athleticism shows up on the football field, as Fiske plays with good movement skills and quickness. While he possesses below-average length, Fiske is crafty with his hands and is strong at the point of attack.

The Chargers signed Poona Ford last week, but they still need to fill out the interior part of the defensive line depth chart.

In Round 3, the Chargers select cornerback DJ James.

James has a lot of experience, having spent his final two seasons at Auburn after three with Oregon. He is a great athlete with the desired coverage skills and knack for the football, as evidenced by leading the SEC in forced incompletions (15) in 2023.

With their first pick in the fourth round, Los Angeles selects running back Will Shipley.

Shipley shows the burst, decisiveness, and receiving ability to be a rotational back, which are all traits that the Bolts could use in the backfield as they look to finish building out the group.

With the additional fourth-round pick they got from the Bears in return for Keenan Allen, L.A. takes offensive lineman Sataoa Laumea.

Jim Harbaugh wants to be more physical up front to aid the running game and that means bolstering the offensive line with his guys. Laumea is an experienced player who logged 44 straight games between right tackle and right guard. He is a fleet-footed mover with a nasty streak.

Joe Hortiz addresses current state of Chargers’ wide receiver room

The Chargers’ wide receiver core is arguably the thinnest positional group on the roster.

After the departures of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, the Chargers’ wide receiver core is arguably the thinnest positional group on the roster.

As it stands, Joshua Palmer and Quentin Johnston highlight the room.

General manager Joe Hortiz, who spoke to local reporters on Thursday, said he is “really excited” about Palmer taking on a bigger role. He noted Johnston’s rough rookie season but added that he has seen “some really impressive traits” on film, according to The Athletic’s Daniel Popper.

Palmer averaged a career-high 58.1 receiving yards per game in 2023 while missing seven games (six to a knee injury and one to a concussion). He is entering the final year of his rookie contract.

Johnston struggled to find his footing in his rookie campaign, finishing with just 431 yards in 17 games. He said earlier this offseason that he expects a “breakout” under Jim Harbaugh.

Hortiz said that they’re not done building the room, as there are still free agents on the market and a talented wide receiver class in this year’s draft.

“It is a position we need to add pieces to. We have free agency still. There’s players out there in free agency that we like. There’s also a really strong draft of wide receivers, and there’s going to be players that come available after the draft, whether they’re still out there in free agency or they get released.”

“…Because with all the wideouts in the draft this year, there’s going to be other teams that draft wideouts, and they’re going to end up releasing good wideouts. … Good wide receivers are going to become available, whether it’s through cuts, cap casualties or trades.”

The Chargers have the No. 5 overall selection, and there is a good chance of there being one of the top wideouts available when they’re on the clock, whether that be Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., LSU’s Malik Nabers or Washington’s Rome Odunze.

Marvin Harrison Jr. doesn’t work out at Ohio State pro day

Harrison even asked teams at the combine if they needed to see him do anything. They said no.

Wednesday was the Ohio State Buckeyes’ pro day to show off their draft-eligible players. The highest-profile player is receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., expected to be selected in the top five of the NFL draft next month.

But after not working out at the NFL combine last month, Harrison also did not work out at his pro day.

He did not do any athletic testing and has not been training for those athletic drills like the 40, three-cone and more.

This is not a surprise. According to SI.com’s Albert Breer, Harrison asked the nine teams he met with at the combine if they needed him to show anything. They all said no.

He is a player who doesn’t need to show anything else. Not all prospects can do that.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

NFL Draft expert lists two Ohio State football players in top 50

NFL Draft expert lists two Buckeyes in top 50 #GoBucks

Nate Tice is a former Big Ten alum, who played quarterback at Wisconsin and transitioned nicely into the media as an analyst for Yahoo. He has grown into one of the more reliable and interesting NFL draft pundits. In addition to bringing intelligent insight from a former player’s point of view, he also makes a few WWE references which are greatly appreciated.

Tice recently released his top 50 Big Board and it features two former Ohio State football stars. It shouldn’t be surprising to see Marvin Harrison Jr. so high on any list as he is widely regarded as a top-five prospect by most experts. Tice has Harrison listed third on his list behind two quarterbacks. He notes under Harrison to not overthink him and that is wise advice that a few “experts” need to take note of.

With the very last spot at number 50, Michael Hall checks in, and like everyone else who has watched Hall, Tice notes the interior defensive lineman’s explosiveness.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Josh Keatley on X.

Daniel Jeremiah’s new mock draft has Chargers trading out of Marvin Harrison Jr.

Daniel Jeremiah chose chaos.

Daniel Jeremiah’s self-proclaimed “chaos” mock draft left some Chargers fans asking questions after he projected the team trading out of the Marvin Harrison Jr. pick at 5.

The compensation, in particular, was a confusing aspect here. Trading up into the top five is historically expensive, yet the Chargers yielded just a 2025 second-rounder. This is partially because the Jets are low on premium draft capital if you’re trying to create a scenario where they trade up into the top five.

It’s not inconceivable that the Chargers could trade out of the fifth pick, even with Harrison Jr. on the board. They have significant roster holes, and as we saw with the Keenan Allen trade, Joe Hortiz is willing to play the long game. But any trade value chart that one could consult suggests that LA gets much more than the compensation projected in this mock.

The Chargers ended up drafting Oregon State offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga at pick 10 after their trade down. Fuaga has been a name that’s been projected to the Bolts before, with his physicality as a blocker and the goal of bulking up their run blocking. Interestingly, Jeremiah has Fuaga starting at right guard in Year 1, with Trey Pipkins presumably keeping his right tackle spot. That would send one of Jamaree Salyer or Zion Johnson to the bench.

The connection between Jim Harbaugh and having trench-built teams with strong offensive lines is understandable. However, I’m not sure this offensive line needs as much uprooting as some draft analysts believe. The Chargers signed Bradley Bozeman to address arguably their biggest weakness on the line. It’s one thing to take Joe Alt or Fuaga if the reasoning is simply that Pipkins is more serviceable than elite. But again, the more chronic need right now is wide receiver, given how they’ve maneuvered.

This draft has a great wide receiver class to Jeremiah’s point. But even with the Chargers’ depth issues, it doesn’t make sense for them to trade out of selecting Harrison, Malik Nabers, or Rome Odunze for this small of a package in return. With needs at linebacker, running back, tight end, cornerback and interior defensive line, I’m also not sure if it’s the best thing to need two wide receivers in the draft going into April.

Jets trade up for top WR Marvin Harrison Jr. in NFL.com mock draft

In a chaos filled mock draft from NFL.com, the New York Jets move up to pick five to select top wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.

Pure chaos at the top end of Daniel Jeremiah’s third mock draft, where a few trades change the entire landscape within the top 10. In the midst of that chaos were the New York Jets, who moved up from pick 10 to land Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.

In order for Harrison to make it to pick five, the first four picks were quarterbacks, with Minnesota trading up to pick four to select JJ McCarthy.

Jeremiah’s reasoning behind this jump up the draft board for the Jets makes sense: the Jets solidified their starting offensive line in free agency and “desperately” need a playmaker to pair with Garrett Wilson at receiver.

What I’ll add is that while the Jets now have five starting offensive linemen on the roster, while it does give them the flexibility that they didn’t have before to make a move like this, that also doesn’t mean they should be done addressing the offensive line either. You can read more about that here.

Jeremiah does not specify what the Jets would have to give up to make this trade happen. However, with limited draft capital in 2024, which includes only two picks in the top 100, along with ranking 26th overall in draft capital value, the Jets likely had to part with draft capital from 2025.

There are several variables in play that make it difficult to gauge what the Jets would need to give up, such as where they will be selecting in each round of the 2025 draft. But in using the 2024 version of the trade value chart and some guesswork, Joe Douglas may have to be willing to part with a late first round pick or a second round pick – and then some potentially – to make a deal with the Chargers work.

However, if Jets are able to actually pull this off, they address a massive need by landing Harrison Jr., who is considered the top receiver in what is a very loaded draft class. On Jeremiah’s latest big board, he has Harrison ranked as the second overall prospect, behind only USC quarterback Caleb Williams.

With up and down quarterback play this past season, Harrison was still incredibly effective, lining up primarily on the boundary. He caught 67 of his 114 targets for 1,211 yards at a whopping 18.1 yards per catch with 14 touchdowns.

In 2022, Harrison hauled in 65 percent of his 118 targets for 1,263 yards at 16.4 yards per catch, with once again, 14 touchdowns. In short, Harrison is a game-changer, able to win in all parts of the field and do so in a variety of ways.

For a closer look at Harrison’s game, here is what Jeremiah wrote about him in his pre-draft scouting report:

“Harrison has ideal size, speed and production,” wrote Jeremiah. “Built like a power forward, he plays with a blend of physicality and explosiveness. He uses his upper-body strength to power through press coverage. He’s a smooth/fluid route runner and closes the cushion quickly. He gets on the toes of cornerbacks before sharply breaking off his route.

“He can tap into another gear when the ball goes up and he tracks over his shoulder with ease. He knows how to use his big frame to wall off and shield defenders. Harrison has a huge catch radius, but he did have some contact drops in traffic this fall. After the catch, he relies on speed and physicality more than elusiveness. Overall, Harrison is a prototypical No. 1 receiver and should enjoy immediate NFL success.”

Simply getting Aaron Rodgers back will on its own bolster the Jets’ offense, but this unit is in need of an additional playmaking presence to help take some of the burden and the eyes off of Garrett Wilson. While Wilson totaled 1,042 receiving yards in 2023, even with inconsistent quarterback play, the Jets’ second leading receiver was Allen Lazard with 311 yards.

The pairing of Wilson and Harrison would greatly stress opposing defenses. No longer can opponents only key in on Wilson, but they have to worry about Harrison as well.

This dynamic then forces defenses to defend the entire field and provides either Wilson or Harrison with one-on-one opportunities to exploit. While opponents can try to limit one of them, they can’t take away both.

Along with both Wilson and Harrison benefitting from each others’ presence on the field, there will be a positive trickle-down effect to everyone else within the offense. More space overall creates more room for the other receivers and tight ends to operate in and there will also be less attention on players like Lazard and Tyler Conklin because the focus is on Harrison and Wilson.

Breece Hall and the run game will benefit from likely facing relatively few light boxes and I would guess that teams aren’t going to be blitzing Rodgers all that much in fear of leaving themselves exposed on the back-end.

There will be a cost in future high end draft capital to make this trade a reality, but for a Jets team in win-now mode, pairing Harrison with Wilson goes a long way in helping that cause, creating an elite one-two punch at receiver for Rodgers.

Malik Nabers reportedly viewed as the No. 1 draft WR by some NFL coaches

Malik Nabers could be the best wide receiver prospect in this draft.

LSU fans have been saying this for a long time. [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag] is the best wide receiver prospect in this draft. He is better than [autotag]Marvin Harrison Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Rome Odunze[/autotag].

It’s a crime that he did not win the Biletnikoff Award. In 13 games last season, Nabers had 89 receptions for 1,569 yards and 14 touchdowns. According to Mel Kiper Jr. Nabers is the third-best wide receiver prospect in the 2024 NFL draft. Kiper has Harrison Jr in first, Odunze in second, Nabers in third and [autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag] in fourth.

There are a lot of teams that could use a star wide receiver in the draft and there is no better player to pick than Nabers. Even as the No. 3 prospect on Kiper’s big board, Nabers is projected to be a top 10 pick in the draft. The latest CBS mock draft has Nabers going to the New York Giants with the sixth pick in the draft.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

2024 NFL draft: Giants host trio of receivers on top-30 visits

The New York Giants hosted a trio a prospect wide receivers for top-30 visits on Friday, including Marvin Harrison Jr.

The New York Giants may be gearing up for the start of free agency but they’re also continuing their preparations ahead of the 2024 NFL draft.

In fact, general manager Joe Schoen was quite busy meeting with prospects this past week.

The Giants hosted North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye, Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt, and Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner before adding a few additional top-30 visits on Friday.

Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports that three wide receiver prospects made their way to East Rutherford — Marvin Harrison Jr., Rome Odunze, and Malik Nabers.

Harrison is unlikely to be available to the Giants unless they trade up but in that scenario, Schoen will probably be aiming for a quarterback.

Odunze and Nabers are far more likely to be on the board come No. 6 overall and both would be ideal options for the WR1-starved Giants. Odunze has been a wildly popular mock to the Giants for months but Nabers’ name has also been mentioned frequently.

The Giants met with both Odunze and Nabers at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine but there were no reported meetings with Harrison before Friday’s visit.

[lawrence-related id=724816,724814,724821]

Chargers strike gold in latest Lance Zierlein mock draft

The Chargers nab the top prospect in this year’s draft class.

NFL Media’s Lance Zierlein released his latest mock draft on Monday, and he has the Chargers hitting a home run at No. 5 overall with the selection of Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.

The Chargers need a tackle, and this could be a valuable pick if they decide to trade back. But Harrison Jr. put up 118 and 120 yards against Jim Harbaugh while he coached Michigan, so why not bring the ballyhooed wideout aboard?

So, how was Los Angeles able to do the unthinkable? Simple. Zierlein has the Cardinals passing on Harrison altogether and selecting LSU’s Malik Nabers, who has been commonly mocked to the Bolts during this process.

Zierlein said there is a lack of consensus on the wide receiver pecking order despite most of the general population believing that Harrison is the No. 1 wideout in this year’s class.

Should this actually happen, or if the Cardinals were to trade back with a quarterback-needy team, assuming that the first three picks are QBs, this would be a no-brainer for the Chargers.

Harrison is a bonafide star skill player with athleticism, speed, route-running savvy and elite ball skills. He would quickly develop close chemistry with Justin Herbert and boost the offense significantly.

Oregon WR Troy Franklin sees himself at top of 2024 class

Oregon Ducks WR Troy Franklin thinks he deserves to be mentioned alongside Marvin Harrison, Rome Odunze as best receivers in 2024 class.

When you talk about the 2024 NFL Draft class, there is a lot of mention of quarterbacks and wide receivers at the very top.

Guys like Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye are among the first quarterbacks who are expected to be taken off of the board, and there’s a group of wide receivers who are projected to be selected not long after in Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, and Rome Odunze.

One name missing from that group, though, is Oregon Ducks’ WR Troy Franklin, who was among the most prolific pass-catchers in the nation last year. While he finished just outside of the running for the Biletnikoff Award in 2023, he said at the NFL Combine that he feels he should be mentioned in the same tier as the other trio.

Franklin had a historic year in 2023, breaking a number of Oregon records with 81 catches for 1,383 yards and 14 touchdowns. He had the third-most TD receptions in the nation, and the sixth-most receiving yards.

According to most mock drafts that have come out so far during the pre-draft process, Franklin is expected to land somewhere late in the first round, if not early in the second round, while the other three aforementioned receivers project as early first-round picks.

We didn’t see Franklin at the Senior Bowl earlier this year, but he has a chance to really improve his draft stock this weekend at the combine, going through on-field events starting on Saturday.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]