NFL Draft countdown: Focus on Chargers' first-round pick at No. 22

Marcus Mosher of The 33rd Team says, “The Chargers need a dynamic tight end, and Loveland is one of the best route-running tight ends we've seen enter the league some time.” While Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports says, “Let's not overthink this. The Chargers need a viable tight end weapon, and no one knows Loveland better than Jim Harbaugh.”

Harbaugh coached Loveland from 2022-23 at Michigan where the two won a national championship in 2023. Last year, Colston led the Wolverines with 56 catches for 582 yards and five scores and would make an ideal target for Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert next season. 

CB Will Johnson | Michigan

The Athletic’s Ben Standig also wants to get the band back together, but has the team trading up with the Bengals to take Johnson with the 17th pick. Johnson also helped Harbaugh’s Wolverines win a national championship with four interceptions in 2023 and returned two interceptions for touchdowns in 2024.

No team allowed fewer points per game (17.7) than the Chargers, but as Standig points out, the team lost Kristian Fulton to the Chiefs in free agency and Asante Samuel Jr. remains unsigned. Pro Football Focus rates Johnson as the third-best cornerback in this year’s draft and 13th-best prospect overall.

Johnson told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine that playing for Jim Harbaugh in Los Angeles would be "a dream come true.”  Chargers fans would be happy as well.

RB Omarion Hampton, North Carolina

Standig appears to be an outlier at The Athletic as the rest of the staff prefers the 6-foot-1, 221-pound running back to Johnson. The Chargers signed former Steelers running back Najee Harris to a one-year, $5.2M contract, but Hampton would give L.A.’s backfield an incredible one-two punch.

Harris had four-straight 1,000-yard seasons with the Steelers from 2021-24 while making 180 catches for 1,149 yards. Hampton led the ACC with 1,660 yards rushing last season and topped the FBS with 1,222 yards after contact, per PFF.

Altogether, Hampton rushed for 3,565 yards with 36 touchdowns in three years with North Carolina with another 635 yards and four scores as a receiver. Imagine what he could do running behind Alt.