The Chargers Trade Out of the 1st Round:

The Los Angeles Chargers have only 5 draft picks in this upcoming NFL Draft, opening the door for conversation around whether the Bolts stay pat at 22 or move back to acquire more draft capital on Days 2 and 3.

Likely trade partners, as things stand, could be the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team that has 4 picks on Day 2 but is maybe too late in the 2nd round. The Miami Dolphins have a late first-rounder in Pick 30, as well as plenty of Day 2 capital with Picks 43, 75, 87 and 90, which could be very enticing to a team looking to recoup some of their lost draft capital depth.

As well as teams like the New York Jets, who hold picks 33 and 44. While some impactful players could be present at Pick 22, the Chargers can definitely field calls and send Bolts fans to bed early on Draft Night by getting out of the 1st round entirely

The Chargers' 1st Selection ISN’T a Guard:

The Chargers are easily in a position to address the lack of starting-caliber offensive linemen in this draft with the likes of Chase Bistontis, someone they had in for a visit in the pre-draft process, Emmanuel Pregnon out of Oregon, or the crown jewel of the class, Vega Ioane out of Penn State.

With all of that said, the Bolts have clearly inferred that they do not hold a premium on the guard position, something consistent with Mike McDaniel and his offenses historically do not rely heavily on a strong interior, but more so an athletic interior, as the focus is on getting the ball out quickly, and getting the edge in the run game. If the Bolts are aligning with McDaniel and his philosophies, I could see the Bolts deciding to move forward with a later Day 2 selection at guard to contest with Kayode Awosika, Ben Cleveland, Cole Strange and Trevor Penning (Yikes!). With visits like K.C Concepcion, Caleb Banks and Zion Young, I could see the Chargers forgoing the guard position until later, regardless of a trade down or not.

The Chargers Go Defense Heavy

The Chargers' offense has plenty of areas for improvement, with the aforementioned interior offensive line the main culprit, but there is also a desire for more explosive playmakers across the board. Despite all of that, there’s reason to believe the Chargers desire more depth on the defensive side of the ball.

In the Chargers' Top 30 visits, the majority of players were on the defensive side of the ball. After plenty of draft capital invested into the offensive side of the ball with Omarion Hampton, Tre Harris and Ke’Andre Lambert Smith in 2025, as well as Joe Alt and Ladd McConkey in 2024, I believe the Chargers front office is willing to set up Chris O’Leary and his unit with a higher pedigree prospect to work with.

Jesse Minter was well known for getting the best out of guys like Tarheeb Still and Cam Hart, two 5th rounders, and while thus far it is working for Hortiz and the Chargers, Minter isn’t there, and this is far from a sustainable model. While the Chargers should 100% address the guard position, I believe it is entirely plausible to see an edge rusher or defensive lineman off the board first.