The Los Angeles Chargers own the fifth overall pick in the NFL Draft next Thursday, and they fully understand that the selection will be in high demand.
This draft class is considered one of the deepest quarterback classes in history, so there will be plenty of teams attempting to move into the top five to take one.
Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz seems to comprehend that his club has leverage, and if he does end up trading No. 5, it will have to be for a massive return.
“There’s certainly, ‘It’s too good of a deal,’ because of what you’re getting back,” Hortiz said, via Coral Smith of NFL.com. “They have to make it attractive for us to move away from those players. The whole, ‘It’s a fair trade, it’s a wash,’ I don’t think that’s a trade that we’re interested in. If we’re going to trade away from great players, there has to be a reason, in terms of value, for us. Certainly, there are going to be more great players in the draft, but it has to make sense to you and it has to make sense to the team that is wanting to come up.”
In other words, if a team wants to swing a trade with Los Angeles for the fifth pick, it is going to have to pay through the nose.
The Chargers are actually not in need of a signal-caller, as they already have Justin Herbert under center. They are, however, in dire need of receiving help after losing both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams this offseason, and they could also use a whole lot of assistance defensively.
But the question is, would Los Angeles actually be better off trading down and accumulating more picks in order to fill out what has become a somewhat bare roster?
Perhaps, but Hortiz is letting everyone know right from the get go that the Chargers won’t be “had” in any trade. He knows the No. 5 pick is in demand, so he is wisely starting a bidding war.
We’ll see if Los Angeles ultimately decides to hold on to the selection and take someone like LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers, or if LA trades the pick to a squad such as the Minnesota Vikings for a considerable haul.
The Chargers went just 5-12 this past season.
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