ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler: “Chargers are eager to trade back”

A new story by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler suggests that the Chargers want to add draft capital with a trade back and focus on the offensive line.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler published some last-minute rumors about the Los Angeles Chargers’ intentions in the 2024 NFL Draft. In the piece, he argues that the Chargers are “eager” to trade down from the fifth overall pick and are focused on grabbing an offensive tackle.

An NFC executive is quoted as saying “The Chargers have made that clear — they want to move back.”

While it initially seemed as if the Chargers could entice the Vikings to move up from the eleventh pick or the Giants from just one pick later, that seems like a difficult task; the Patriots and Cardinals have both indicated that their picks — Nos. 3 and 4, respectively — are for sale.

Though the Patriots have said that they don’t like the offers they’ve received, there’s also a good chance that they would select a quarterback, which would make a trade less attractive to the Vikings or Giants.

Even if they don’t select a quarterback — presumably selecting Marvin Harrison Jr. — the Cardinals are more than willing to offer their pick.

That doesn’t make a trade down impossible but it certainly makes the idea less appealing. Teams looking for a player other than quarterback are less willing to offer generous compensation, so even if Los Angeles taps into their connections across the league — Fowler suggested the New York Jets, where former Hortiz coworker Joe Douglas helms the operation — they might be disappointed in their haul.

The draft seems to be a bit deeper at receiver than along the offensive line, so perhaps trading down to acquire extra ammunition and adding a high-level offensive lineman could be well worth it.

The Chargers might be choosing between a future with Joe Alt switching to the right side of the line or a future where Taliese Fuaga plays his natural position and they add someone like Brenden Rice or Ja’Lynn Polk in addition to Fuaga.

On the other hand, we could see the Patriots go with Harrison and the Cardinals staying put to select Malik Nabers, putting the Chargers in the perfect position to demand a ransom from the Giants or Vikings for the quarterback of their choice.