{"id":861998,"date":"2026-04-09T02:51:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T02:51:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/861998\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T02:51:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T02:51:36","slug":"2-reasons-chargers-will-trade-down-during-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/861998\/","title":{"rendered":"2 Reasons Chargers Will Trade Down During NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Chargers<\/a> feel like one of the most obvious trade-down candidates in the first round of the 2026 NFL draft.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While some Chargers fans might want to see something wild like a move up the board from No. 22, or even a blockbuster trade for Dexter Lawrence<\/a> of the New York Giants, that just hasn\u2019t been how general manager Joe Hortiz usually goes about his business.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With big needs on the offensive line, perhaps at wideout and across the defense as Chris O\u2019Leary takes over as coordinator, the Chargers might be more than happy to fall back, not jump up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here are two of the biggest reasons the Chargers are major trade-down candidates.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Chargers picks problem\u00a0\"Los<\/p>\n

Kimani Vidal | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Chargers only have five selections in the draft this month.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For a team that has made a habit of finding late-round gems like Tarheeb Still, Kimani Vidal and RJ Mickens, to name a few, that\u2019s just not nearly enough picks to take an acceptable number of shots on prospects.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alas, the Chargers coughed up a fifth-round pick when they went and got Odafe Oweh from Baltimore in the middle of the season. A huge win, no doubt, before they let him get away in free agency. But recouping that draft pick value somehow might be ideal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Chargers also threw a seventh-round pick away in August of 2024 when acquiring Elijah Molden. Again, another great trade, considering the starter Molden has become, earning himself an extension in the process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even a small move back could net one or two picks that help the Chargers recoup some of this value they gave away in the past.\u00a0<\/p>\n

NFL draft value for Chargers\"North<\/p>\n

Omarion Hampton | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the other big trade-down justification for the Chargers: It\u2019s all about the value.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If the Chargers drop out of the first round entirely, it will be because of their draft board. There\u2019s an outside chance that the way they grade the players they could draft at No. 22 won\u2019t be all that different from the player they could get at a No. 33 or No. 34 spot early in the second round.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If nothing else, the Chargers have at least considered this in each of the last few seasons, according to The Athletic\u2019s Daniel Popper<\/a>:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the Chargers can add an additional third-round pick in a trade down, they could address all of these needs on the first two days of the draft. Hortiz has been interested in trading down in each of his first two drafts. He had offers to trade back from No. 5 overall in his first draft, but ultimately selected an elite player in tackle Joe Alt. The Chargers were close to trading down from No. 22 in last year\u2019s draft, but that deal fell through at the last minute. The Chargers also had consensus and conviction in drafting Hampton, a pick that looks like another hit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Chargers adding another third-round pick, which would likely mean another top-100 pick joining the roster, could be just enticing enough for Hortiz and Co., especially if the draft grades aren\u2019t all that different in the middle of the pack.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Granted, it takes two teams to do a deal. The Chargers probably need a little quarterback desperation from another club to make this happen. But it certainly feels more likely than last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sign Up For the Chargers Daily Digest – OnSI\u2019s Free Los Angeles Chargers Newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Los Angeles Chargers feel like one of the most obvious trade-down candidates in the first round of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":861999,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2064],"tags":[241,7,1014,262,2444,2443,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-861998","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-chargers","8":"tag-chargers","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-los-angeles","11":"tag-los-angeles-chargers","12":"tag-losangeles","13":"tag-losangeleschargers","14":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116372484613942678","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=861998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861998\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/861999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=861998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=861998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=861998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}