NFL Draft countdown: Focus on Chargers' first-round pick at No. 5
The 2024 NFL Draft is only five days away.
The Los Angeles Chargers pick fifth this year. With holes all over their roster, moves up or down the draft board are not off the table.
Here is who the experts are projecting L.A. to select at No. 5.
Pro Football Focus' Brad Spielberger: Troy Fautanu, OT, Washington
Spielberger has L.A. trading their fifth-overall pick to the quarterback-needy Vikings in return for Minnesota’s first-round selections (No. 11 and No. 23) and a third-round pick in 2025. With the 11th pick, he thinks the team will grab Fautanu.
“The Chargers move down and still add a plug-and-play offensive lineman in Fautanu who just played very well against head coach Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines in the national championship game. Fautanu could start at right tackle or right guard in 2024 as he continues to develop with the new-look Chargers offense.”
Washington’s 317-pound left tackle won the Joe Moore Award as the nation’s top lineman in 2023 and seems a natural fit for what should be a run-heavy offense under Harbaugh.
ESPN's Field Yates: JC Latham, OT, Alabama
Yates also has the Chargers trading with Minnesota to take an offensive tackle but believes it will be Latham instead.
“Following the projected move down, the Chargers can now get to work building this roster how new coach Jim Harbaugh and GM Joe Hortiz envision it — which I expect will be through the trenches. Latham's overwhelming strength is a perfect fit for a team that will want to wear opponents out with its physicality.”
How strong is the 6-foot-6, 360-pound tackle? He sat out the bench press portion of the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, but according to David Ballou, Alabama’s Director of Sports Performance, Latham benched 505 pounds and joined the 1,000-pound squat club before the 2023 season.
ESPN's Mike Tannenbaum: Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame
Unlike his colleagues, Tannenbaum believes the Chargers will stay put at No. 5 to draft a player widely considered the best tackle in the draft.
“Alt is 6-foot-9 with great movement traits, and he gave up just six sacks over 2,142 snaps in college. Fortifying the offensive line is the foundation of any Jim Harbaugh team, and that's especially true after Herbert missed four games last season with a fractured finger.”
Of course, after trading Keenan Allen and cutting Mike Williams, the Chargers have a glaring need at wide receiver. But the former Jets GM believes the draft is deep enough at the position for the team to get a quality pass-catcher on Day 2.
Possible second-round receivers include Roman Wilson, who played for Harbaugh at Michigan, and Washington's Ja'Lynn Polk who played against Harbaugh for a national championship.
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