Is Jalen Ramsey the right gamble for Chargers to raise the stakes in the AFC West arms race?

"The Dolphins continue to have conversations about trading Jalen Ramsey. I think that a trade there will get done, the question is when does it get done? Does it get done next week, the week after, prior to the starting of training camp — I don't know exactly when it's going to be but Jalen Ramsey will get traded. It will be, I expect, before the start of training camp. We'll see how it shakes out, where he goes. I think he would like to go to the west coast, to Los Angeles...Rams, Chargers, somewhere like that." 

- ESPN's Adam Schefter

Let's start with the obvious. The language here from Schefter is important and the focus of the Chargers' inclusion here is rooted in where Ramsey would like to go. So, for all we know, the Chargers could make a general inquiry or, potentially, not even be engaged in any ongoing conversations. Ramsey hasn't been shy about his west coast affiliation after all, he has been posted up in California this offseason working out to stay ready for the season after bypassing the Dolphins' offseason program. It makes sense for Ramsey to want to be back there after his time with the Rams. 

This may be a one-sided flirtation — but it shouldn't be. No, the Chargers don't have a whopping surplus of salary cap space, nor do they have extra draft capital to weaponize as a part of any negotiations with the Dolphins. But the Chargers have momentum as a franchise, the room for an upgrade at corner amid all of their young talent at the position, and the chance to parlay both Ramsey and Derwin James together and reunite the former Florida State teammates in 2025. 

With Ramsey's size at corner and the ability to play both outside and inside, he'd be a terror to pair with James' mobility within the back seven. As the Chargers look to attack the middle of the field with their coverages, these two playing together can axe a lot of progressions by overlapping or complementing one another in space. 

Ramsey collected experience in a branch of the same defensive coaching tree this past season with Anthony Weaver, as well. Weaver and Minter both have roots under Wink Martindale, who served as the Ravens defensive coordinator from 2018-2021. It's an exciting proposition. One that the Chargers, amid their push to make the leap under Harbaugh, should strongly consider.

The cost will likely be a healthy portion of Ramsey's 2025 remaining compensation and a conditional draft choice that should probably start as a mid-round draft choice at worst. That, for a Chargers team with sky high ambitions and a former teammate to jazz Ramsey up about playing back in Los Angeles, feels like a worthy cost to accept if it means getting another force multiplier into their secondary to play off of James.