The Chargers jettisoned wide receiver Mike Williams first, on March 13, releasing him and saving themselves roughly $20 million in salary cap space for next season. The franchise’s second all-time leading receiver, Keenan Allen, departed the next day, traded to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a fourth-round selection in the upcoming NFL draft.
One minute they were there and the next minute they were gone, two of the most noteworthy cap casualties of the league’s offseason. One day they were vital cogs in an offense that promised so much but delivered so little in the form of victories over the years and the next day they were ancient history.
So, it stands to reason that the Chargers will seek replacements in the draft, perhaps even selecting Marvin Harrison Jr. of Ohio State with the fifth overall selection Thursday. He would seem to fit the bill as a dynamic player with the skills to pair with standout quarterback Justin Herbert.
Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz said recently he considered Harrison the top position player in the draft, the first non-quarterback likely to be available after the first four selections, topped by USC quarterback Caleb Williams. Naturally, Hortiz didn’t mention Harrison by name, but the implication was clear.
Unless, of course, Hortiz referred to LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers or maybe he was speaking of University of Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze. Then again, Hortiz might have been going in a different direction entirely and was thinking about Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt.
The general consensus around the NFL, based on numerous mock drafts by numerous pundits, is that wide receiver tops the Chargers’ must-have list with their first-round selection. There also has been plenty of speculation that the Chargers will trade the No. 5 pick to move down and add selections.
Many mock drafts include many trade scenarios, but it’s all just guesswork.
So is the notion that the Chargers would take Harrison.
“I think it’s important, I do,” Hortiz said of the overall importance of the wide receiver position. “But I don’t place an increased importance on any position other than, obviously, the quarterback position, which we’re in good shape here. I think wideouts are important. I think running backs are important. I think the offensive line is important. Tight ends. In this offense, tight ends are important.
“Certainly, you have to get after the (opposing) quarterback. How do you affect the quarterback? You get after him. That’s why we have always fallen back, in Baltimore, to the best player available, and that’s what we’re going to do here. We’re going to take the best player available because every position is important.”
Hortiz was just getting warmed up on the subject of drafting wide receivers.
“I said it before, I’ll say it again and I’ll say it next year and I’m going to say it five years from now: I can promise you, wide receiver is going to be a deep position in the draft every year,” he said. “It’s just the way the game evolved and changed. It’s a passing game, or it’s certainly increased throughout the past 20 years. Players are coming out more polished.”
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So, was he saying the Chargers could wait to select a skilled wide receiver until the later rounds? Was he saying they might shore up another vulnerable position first and then turn their attention to replacing Williams and Allen when the second and third rounds are conducted Friday or when the final four rounds are completed Saturday?
What’s clear is that the upcoming draft, the Chargers’ first after Hortiz replaced Tom Telesco as GM and Jim Harbaugh replaced Brandon Staley as coach, is as important this year as it will be next year and the one after that and the one after that. That’s one guiding principle for Hortiz.
“We’re going to take players that we deem to be Chargers,” he said. “That’s the right mentality. That’s the right work ethic, the toughness, the desire and love for the game. The play-making ability. All of those things that wrap into it. I think this draft is important, but next year is going to be the most important draft for this team in my mind. The year after that is going to be the most important draft for this team.”