Chargers land two impact players in new two-round mock

A new playmaker on offense and defense is just what the doctor ordered for the Chargers.

We’ve got another intriguing two-round mock today from Doug Farrar of USA Today’s Touchdown Wire.

In this exercise, the Chargers nab a pair of instant-impact players with one on either side of the ball.

In the first round, Farrar pairs the Chargers with one of the elite receiver prospects in USC’s Jordan Addison. Many analysts will attempt to pair the Chargers with a speed threat here and Farrar does just that while giving the Chargers a more complete wideout that can play all across the formation for new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.

Despite his size (6’0 175 lbs.), Addison was a constant big-play threat over his final two seasons at the college level. During his 2021 breakout campaign, he hauled in 100 passes for 1,593 yards and a whopping 17 touchdowns.

With those types of numbers, it’s no surprise that Addison was the winner of that season’s Fred Biletnikoff Award on top of being a First-Team All-American. Following the graduation of Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett, Addison transferred to USC where he played his final year in college alongside quarterback Caleb Williams, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner.

Despite missing three games, Addison still put up 875 yards and eight touchdowns in 2022 en route to being named a First-Team All-Pac 12 selection.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein loves Addison’s footwork when it comes to running complex routes and understanding how to utilize leverage against his opponents. He understands how to work a defender’s blind spots and his acceleration allows him to really make their mistakes hurt.

The Chargers need a big-play wideout that can make something happen after the catch and that’s exactly what Addison can do. He’s sure-handed and would be an excellent complement to Mike Williams and Keenan Allen in year one.

With their second pick, Farrar has Pitt defensive tackle Calijah Kancey falling all the way to the Chargers at No. 54. I’ll just come out and say this is highly unlikely, but I also can’t say we haven’t seen something like this happen before.

NFL circles can sometimes fall out of favor with a prospect for one reason or another. In this case, Kancey’s size at 6’0 and (maybe) 280 pounds will likely keep some teams from feeling comfortable enough to use their first round picks on him.

But say what you want about what his size might mean for his NFL future, the film truly speaks for itself.

Over his final two collegiate seasons, Kancey amassed 27.5 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks en route to earning a pair of First-Team All-ACC honors and capping his career off with a unanimous All-American selection in 2022.

Kancey possesses one of the best first steps in the draft class and is most certainly going to test very well at this year’s combine. His ability to explode past defenders and get into the backfield before anyone knows what happened is truly something to see.

Understandably, his lack of prototypical size will be the main talking point in regards to the cons of drafting him. Per Zierlein’s draft profile on Kancey, he also has a bad habit of ducking his head into blockers which causes him to lose sight of run plays.

However, Zierlein’s NFL comparison for Kancey is Vikings Hall of Fame defensive tackle John Randle. Physical shortcomings be damned, that’s a pretty good in my book.