Chargers Can't Afford to Miss On First-Round Pick This Season

The Los Angeles Chargers hold one of the more important picks of the upcoming NFL Draft. They currently sit at pick No. 5 and are expected to take either a wide receiver or offensive lineman with the selection. However, there has been talk about them moving down in the first round to gain additional draft capital as well.

But no matter what the Chargers decide to do, one thing is for sure and that is that they can't afford to not hit on this pick. After a disappointing 5-12 finish to the season, the Bolts are hoping to not be picking this high in the draft again anytime soon. They have a few clear needs along the roster but most notably within their wide receiver room.

After trading away star Keenan Allen and releasing Mike Williams, the Bolts are left with a very lackluster group of wide-outs. While the temptation to take an offensive lineman is there, especially with new head coach Jim Harbaugh in the mix, the Chargers shouldn't pass on the excellent group of game-changer pass catchers at the top of the draft.

They can't go wrong with either Marvin Harrison Jr. out of Ohio State or Malik Nabers from LSU. Either one of them would give them a true No. 1 wide receiver to work around and allow quarterback Justin Herbert to have a new favorite target. Combining them with last year's first round pick, Quentin Johnston could bode well for this team.

While protecting the quarterback is the name of the game, the Bolts owe it to Herbert to get him a dominating presence along the receiving core. The Chargers can always get a lineman in the second round of the draft, given that it's a fairly strong draft class. But first and foremost, it would be detrimental to the build of the team to pass up a wide receiver in the first round given where they currently stand.