Eric Smith

Welcome back to theChargers Mailbag!

The offseason is here but the Mailbag keeps going. We'll do one of these every month or so in the offseason. Send in submissions for the Mailbaghereor by sending mean email.

Off we go...

The draft is my favorite time of the year. Excited to see your mock drafts like last year. What could happen on Day 1 and 2 for us? (Charles via email)

Draft week is here.

The Bolts currentlyhave 10 picksin the 2025 NFL Draft but also have a myriad of directions they can go beginning Thursday night.

A quick programming note for later this week: all relevant Chargers information can be found in theChargers 2025 Draft Hub.

As usual, here is the annual disclaimer that nobody really knows what will happen Thursday night and beyond.

But let's get right into a few Chargers scenarios.

Here are my annual 3-round mini mock drafts using Pro Football Focus' mock draft simulator.

Option 1: Help the Offense

Colston Loveland, come on down.

Justin Herbert gets a new pass catcher in our first scenario. The tight end obviously played for Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh at Michigan, but this pairing makes sense even without that college connection.

Loveland, who is who is 6-foot-6 and 248 pounds, is one of the most dynamic offensive players in this draft class who can also hold his own as a blocker. And getting him at No. 22 is a steal according to consensus draft experts.

Loveland is NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah's No. 7 overall player while The Athletic's Dane Brugler and ESPN Mel Kiper, Jr. tabbed him at No. 11 overall.

The Chargers current tight end room is led by Tyler Conklin and Will Dissly, but the addition of Loveland gives the Bolts a foundational piece to build around in the future.

Here is Brugler's quick report on Loveland:

With his speed and ball skills, Loveland can line up anywhere on the field and win as a quarterback-friendly, multilevel receiving threat. He isn't a liability as a one-pop, get-in-the-way blocker but will struggle to sustain or control NFL edge defenders. Overall, Loveland doesn't have the skill set for full-time inline responsibilities, but his dynamic movements, natural hands and football awareness should make him one of the primary targets in an NFL offense. His tools and upside are reminiscent of Zach Ertz.

Getting Tennessee's Omarr Norman-Lott at No. 55 overall is a steal considering PFF has him ranked 34th overall.

Norman-Lott, who is 6-3 and 291 pounds, won't need to be the main guy right away but has upside and should provide immediate depth to a room that underwent a but of a makeover this offseason.

And UCF running back RJ Harvey at No. 86 is also good value based on PFF's rankings.

Najee Harris will be the Bolts featured back in 2025 but Harvey (5-8, 205 pounds) could be a solid complementary piece in the room this season and beyond.

Option 2: Help the Defense

Will Walter Nolen be there at No. 22 come Thursday night? We'll see.

But if he is, it's not hard to imagine the Chargers choosing to focus on the defensive line given the makeover of that room this offseason.

The Bolts current room is solid at the moment, but the potential addition of Nolen could give the Chargers a top-tier guy to work with.

Chargers General Manager Joe Hortiz said last week that he believes the roster is set up for the Bolts to take the best player available at each pick. In this scenario, that was Nolen, a a 6-4, 300-pounder defensive linemen who is PFF's No. 7 overall player.

Jeremiah's scouting report on Nolen noted:

Nolen is a twitchy defensive tackle who fits best in a penetrating style of defense. Ole Miss slanted him quite often in its defensive scheme and he created some early wins versus the run and pass. As a pass rusher, he can really get off the ball with urgency and roll his hips to jolt blockers. He flashes a violent hump move and can redirect with ease. He needs to improve his vision and awareness, though.

Swinson in Round 2 would give the Chargers a young edge rusher who could learn from Khalil Mack and others in 2025, then potentially take on a larger role in 2026. Remember that Mack and Bud Dupree are slated to be free agents after this season.

Georgia's Tate Ratledge could potentially battle for the starting left guard spot this season with the likes of Trey Pipkins III, Bradley Bozeman and Andre James. He would also give the Chargers even more offensive line depth, which is never a bad thing.

Option 3: A Round 1 Wild Card?

A cornerback in Round 1? I could see it.

Most mock drafts have the Chargers taking one of six positions in Round 1: tight end, wide receiver, offensive line, running back, defensive tackle and edge rusher. But I'd also throw cornerback into that mix if the right one is there at No. 22.

In this scenario, it's as simple as taking the best player available on PFF's board, where Johnson is 14th.

The Chargers obviously know Johnson well as he played for Harbaugh and Chargers Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter in college. Many viewed Johnson, who is 6-2 and 194 pounds, as a Top-10 pick before he had an up-and-down 2024 season in Ann Arbor.

The Bolts struck gold with 2024 fifth-rounders Tarheeb Still and Cam Hart, but Johnson could be a potential No. 1 outside cornerback who is the focal point of the Chargers secondary for years to come.

Kiper has Johnson ranked No. 12 overall. Jeremiah (No. 16) and Brugler (No. 18) have him in a similar spot. Either way, most pundits have Johnson as a top 20 player.

Kiper wrote:

Johnson is so instinctive in coverage, and his ability to read quarterbacks jumps out when you watch him. He has great quickness in his transition, allowing him to make plays on the ball. Johnson returned both of his interceptions this past season for touchdowns, and you can see those instincts throughout his first pick-six in Michigan's opener against Fresno State -- when he jumped a screen and took the ball 86 yards to the house. He has nine career picks. Johnson missed the team's last six games with a toe injury.

Arroyo in Round 2 isn't a stretch as some recent projections, including Brugler, paired him with the Chargers at No. 55. Arroyo offers great athleticism and speed as Brugler's No. 41 overall player.

Kennard in the third round would fill out the edge rusher room. Like most players we've mentioned, he could learn at his own pace in 2025.

Option 4: Trade Back

A trade back from No. 22? Hortiz was with the Ravens when Baltimore did that in back-to-back years (2018 and 2019).

And while the Ravens moved back from No. 22 to No. 25 in both of those trades, moving down to No. 30 in this exercise made sense.

For one, many view this year's draft class as a solid but unspectacular one, meaning teams generally could view players taken in the 20-60 range about that same. If that's the case, why not get more cracks in that space.

Second, I was able to execute a trade down with the Bills for strong value. I sent Nos. 22, 181 and 199 to Buffalo for Nos. 30 and 56. According to OverTheCap's trade value chart, I sent 2,118 points to the Bills while getting 2,236 points in return.

The Bills moved up to take Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams while the Chargers, in this hypothetical scenario, selected Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka at No. 30 overall.

Egbuka, who is 6-1 and 202 pounds, just helped the Buckeyes win a national title and is a polished route runner. He would add some juice to the room alongside Ladd McConkey, Mike Williams and Quentin Johnston.

And getting him at No. 30 is a boon considering Jeremiah and Kiper both ranked him 18th overall and PFF tabbed him at No. 19.

PFF wrote:

There seems to be some draft fatigue with Egbuka, who has been talked about as an NFL prospect for three years. Don't fall for it. He's a high-floor, versatile and savvy receiver as a borderline WR1/WR2.

The trade with Buffalo also meant we had back-to-back picks in the second round at Nos. 55 and 56.

Getting a pair of defensive players in South Carolina defensive lineman T.J. Sanders and Ohio State edge rusher JT Tuimoloau would give Minter a pair of exciting young players to build around going forward.

And don't sleep on Oregon tight end Terrance Ferguson in Round 3. This is a very deep tight end class but Ferguson was mentioned by Brugler as one of hisfavorite Day 2 prospects.

There you have it.

Four different Round 1 scenarios and 13 different players the Chargers could take in the first three rounds.

Will any of this come to fruition? Maybe or maybe not.

But one thing I know for sure is that the Chargers are one of the most intriguing teams to watch because there are so many avenues they can take come Thursday night.

A fun scenario here, and wouldn't you know it, the five positions listed here are included in the seven I mentioned above.

If I'm being honest though, I don't see any of these positions being an absolute need over any of the others. In my mind, they are about equal.

And that's because I keep coming back to something Hortiz said last week.

"I feel like we could go out and play a game tomorrow and be damn good in that game," Hortiz said on Thursday.

The Bolts could line up today if they wanted and field a strong depth chart at each of these five position groups.

Sure, it may seem some positions such as defensive tackle and edge rusher could slide to the forefront based on what the roster could look like in 2026.

But that's also true for offensive line, wide receiver and tight end, too.

All of this is to say that I expect the Bolts to simply take the best player on their board at No. 22 overall.

While the Bolts surely have some roster needs, Hortiz and his staff have also build a group where they don't need to reach a certain position in Round 1.

Hmmm, another good one here.

For what it's worth, I did not run into this scenario above as Egbuka was gone when I took Loveland in the first scenario ... and Loveland was long gone when I traded down and eventually took Ebuka.

Truthfully, it depends on which of the three players the Bolts have highest on the internal draft board when they are on the clock.

Loveland would offer versatility on offense while Harmon is among the top defensive tackle prospects in a loaded group. And Egbuka, as outlined above, would give the Chargers another pass-catching piece for Herbert.

I will say that from a storyline perspective, adding Loveland to the Bolts would be fun because of the Harbaugh connection.

Hortiz actually addressed this topic last week in his pre-draft press conference with reporters.

Here's what he said when asked about potentially pairing a rookie running back with Harris.

"Certainly you want to build a complete backfield with some versatility, but you don't want to discount a player who's similar to Najee because again, it may not be a need [right now], but it could be a need," Hortiz said.

"If we're taking a running back, get the running backs stacked in the right order as, 'Hey, who helps us? Who's the best running back?' When it comes to Najee, we want someone that can compliment him and work with him and maybe carry a lot of the same traits he has," Hortiz added.

My take on this?

Getting a running back who has a similar frame to Harris (6-1 and 242 pounds) wouldn't be a bad thing. Remember that Harris is only on a 1-year deal so the Bolts might be looking for a long-term option.

Hortiz's comments might also signal that running back could be on the table in Rounds 1-4 as a position to watch for the Chargers.

Jeremiah, for what it's worth, told Chargers.com earlier this month that he would personally put running back behind tight end and wide receiver in terms of potential needs.

"I do think you want to add somebody young to the room," Jeremiah said. "But in terms of a premier guy, I'll probably put that down the road. [I would] put that behind those other two positions at this point in time."

Maybe.

In my mind, the Chargers would also have to miss out on a few other guys, too. That includes Arroyo and Ferguson, both of whom were included in the four scenarios above.

Look, I get the Chargers-Andrews conversation because of his ties to Hortiz and others in the front office.

But something else to keep in mind is whether or not Hortiz would want to part with a relatively notable draft pick when he could use said pick on a younger and cheaper option.

Hortiz has repeatedly said he wants to build the Chargers through the draft. He has his second shot to do so this weekend.

We'll end with this one from Ed.

Ten picks is the draft capital right now but that could certainly change.

I did not make any trades to move up in the above scenarios. But Hortiz showed last year that he isn't afraid to maneuver up the board if he sees fit. Just look at his trade last year to come up and get McConkey.

In terms of the 2025 draft, we'll have to wait and see if the Bolts make any moves.

One thing I'd keep an eye on the Chargers have four picks in Round 6. Those could be packaged to move up or down based on a certain situation. I traded two of them above with Buffalo in that hypothetical first-round swap.

Hortiz on Thursday said he was already excited for what Day 3 could bring witha whopping seven picksin Rounds 4-7.

"I just think it's an opportunity late in the draft to really try to hit on great opportunities, like great sleepers finds in the draft," Hortiz said. "Day 3 is when, and I'll say this again on Friday night, Day 3 is when the scouts get really excited. And the coaches too, because they've looked at all these players.

"You sit there and you're looking at what's left on the board and you really say, 'OK, who do you guys love?' So that's when you see the conviction come out," Hortiz added. "To have four 6th-round picks, that's going to be fun."

I could see the Chargers ending up with eight or so picks and focus on quality over quantity by trading some of those Day 3 selections.

But given how well Hortiz did on Day 3 last year, primarily with the Still and Hart picks, the Bolts may want to stand pat and take a bunch of dart throws and see who hits on Saturday.

Either way, enjoy the ride everyone. We've finally made it to the 2025 NFL Draft.