Chargers mock draft features surprise name after preferred targets don't fall

The Los Angeles Chargers don’t feel like a team about to make many surprises in the 2025 NFL draft. 

Typically, mock drafts throw a Michigan Wolverines prospect at Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers and call it a day. If not that layup of a mock scenario, Los Angeles usually grabs an offensive lineman or weapon for Justin Herbert, depending on how the board falls. 

But Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus has thrown out a shocker scenario, having the Chargers stand pat in a new mock draft at No. 22 and taking Kentucky cornerback Maxwell Hairston: 

“The Chargers got solid contributions from late-round picks Tarheeb Still and Cam Hart at cornerback last season and added Donte Jackson in free agency, but depth remains a concern. A speedy zone coverage specialist like Maxwell Hairston could be an appealing option in Round 1. Over the past two seasons, Hairston posted an excellent 81.0 coverage grade in Cover-3 and Quarters — the two coverages Los Angeles leans on most.”

This mock almost feels like a scenario in which the Chargers would trade down, acquiring more picks and still getting a top-50 prospect. Running back Omarion Hampton and tight ends Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren are already off the board by the time they pick in this mock, to name a few prospects.

That’s not meant to undersell Hairston, though. He’s a no-brainer of a first-round pick with huge upside. But the mentioned presence of Tarheeb Still and Cam Hart already seems to hint at the Chargers not prioritizing the position early.

Still, in the arms race that is the AFC West right now, it would be hard to knock the Chargers in the grades department if this is what ends up happening on Night 1.