Depth along the O-line
Kiper noted Thursday that there are plenty of options if you need interior offensive lineman in this year’s draft.
“There’s a lot of depth in the interior, whether it be at center or guard to not only get one, but I [could] come out of this draft with three interior lineman,” he said.
At the top, of course, there’s a number of prospects that bring intrigue for a particular reason.
Kiper mentioned how this class is the first he can remember seeing where a number of the offensive line prospects could be tackles or guards, depending on where they land.
That makes the fit and needs for teams around the league a fascinating thing to watch.
“A lot of these guys this year, it’s interesting with this group of offensive lineman because they’re not locked into one spot,” Kiper said. “This is the one year where you have guys that fit a scheme or they fit both schemes, or they could be a right tackle, a guard, you don’t know.
“You’re going to get them and you’re going to figure it out,” Kiper added. “I have not seen one of these types of drafts from an offensive line standpoint, until this year.”
As for what it means for the Chargers, Kiper could still see the team opting for some interior offensive line depth with their No. 22 overall pick.
A common player mocked to the Chargers so far has been Penn State’s Vega Ioane, the big guard out of Penn State.
Kiper had mocked Ioane one pick ahead of the Bolts in his most recent predictions but said he could see him being available when they are on the clock next month.
“If you want to look at Ioane from Penn State, the interior offensive lineman, guard, you can go that route as well,” Kiper said. “He’s going to come off the board somewhere in that general area where the Chargers are picking.”
But even if the board falls a certain way or the Bolts elect to go a different direction in the first round, this is a draft where the talent is abundant for the offensive trenches.
“The interior of the offensive line is very deep into the third, fourth round,” Kiper said.
Aside from the names projected to go early on Day 2, Kiper sees a lot of potential impact starters from later in the second day and even heading into the third day.
“If you look interior, [Keylan] Rutledge from Georgia Tech is an underrated guy and can be guard or center,” Kiper said. [Jalen] Farmer from Kentucky has a really good shot. If you want to roll the dice in fifth, sixth round, Jaeden Roberts from Alabama could be a guy to look at there. If you can coach him up and get him to be consistent, the talent with Roberts is in abundance.
“There’s a lot of interior lineman you can pick up [in this draft], even into Day 3,” Kiper added.