Chargers News: Jim Harbaugh Compares Bolts #5 Pick to #1 Pick

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh is well aware that his new team is in great position in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft. The Chargers hold the No. 5 pick, already a premium spot to grab one of the top players in the draft.

What makes this draft spot even better for the Chargers is this year, there's a real chance that all or most of the teams selecting before Los Angeles could take a quarterback. The Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders, New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals are all selecting before the Chargers.

The Bears, Commanders and Patriots are all expected to fill a team need by selecting a quarterback. Though the Cardinals appear to be moving forward with Kyler Murray, they could potentially trade back in the draft, allowing a quarterback-needy team to trade up and grab one of the great passers in this draft.

If three or four teams ahead of the Chargers all take quarterbacks, the Chargers would have their pick of the best-non quarterbacks. Already having a top quarterback in Justin Herbert, the Chargers will have the luxury of focusing on building their team.

“There’s going to be a great player at five," Harbaugh told reporters at the NFL owners meetings. "In some ways, there’s talk of four quarterbacks going in the first four picks, where if that happens, then that pick really becomes like the No. 1 pick in the draft. If four quarterbacks go in the first four picks, that’s not like the fifth pick anymore. That’s like the No. 1 pick of the draft for teams that have a great quarterback already.”

Several players have been linked to the Chargers in this spot, including LSU WR Malik Nabers, Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Washington WR Rome Odunze, and Notre Dame OT Joe Alt. With the Chargers losing Mike Williams and Keenan Allen this offseason, getting a premium receiver is expected to be a high priority, especially with several great WR prospects in this class. However, Harbaugh and the Chargers could still opt to fill another need with this pick, like adding help to the offensive line.