Chargers' Lingering Weakness is Fan Favorite to be First-Round Target in 2027

The Chargers have not spent significant draft capital on cornerbacks in over a decade. See why that has led to a thin room and an early 2027 draft need.

Dec 27, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Donte Jackson (26) and cornerback Cam Hart (20) celebrate a pass defense against the Houston Texans during the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Los Angeles Chargers will be returning from their last offseason break for training camp starting on July 28th. As they enter camp, several position groups have yet to be fully settled but with only one full-time starting job clearly still up for grabs at left guard.

The cornerback room is one of the key unsettled groups. The top three corners in Donte Jackson, Tarheen Still and Cam Hart are set with special teams ace Deane Leonard potentially battling for cornerback number four duties that were vacated by the departure of Benjamin St-Juste in free agency.

The Chargers' injury luck, despite being terrible on the offensive line, was actually not bad in 2025 with their corners. However, the year before in 2024, the Chargers were hit heavily by injuries across the entire defensive backfield and even had veteran Eli Apple stepping in off the couch to play three games before getting injured himself. Apple was one of eight different cornerbacks used by the Chargers in 2024.

Who will step up and fill the back of the room is up for a battle in camp with several rookies and second-year players fighting for role? That is the question that will have to be answered and possibly addressed by the front office during training camp.

Given the current long-term makeup of the room uncertain with Jackson entering the final year of his contract while Still and Hart are entering year three of their four-year rookie contracts, it makes sense that the odds may end up favoring Los Angeles looking to replenish their ranks in the 2027 draft. Fans appear to be on the same page according to a poll ran on X.

If you had to bet on which position the Chargers take in the first round in the 2027 draft, which position is your money on? 💵💵💵

— Thomas Martinez (@BoltsDraftTalk) July 7, 2026

The fan poll was specifically worded towards the first round to highlight the believed need for high-end draft capital being spent. The results are clear with an overwhelming amount of votes coming in for cornerback. The Chargers have not drafted a first-round corner since Jason Verrett was selected in the first round of the 2014 draft.

Looking back on the Chargers draft history after Verrett, they have drafted only one cornerback on day two of the draft in the past ten draft classes. Asante Samuel Jr. was selected in the second round of the 2021 draft.

The lack of draft capital being spent by the previous regime on both cornerbacks and offensive line has yielded the lack of depth at both position groups that current general manager Joe Hortiz and the front office have been trying to remedy since they arrived. If the way the offensive line room has been addressed is any indication, the Chargers may add several cornerbacks to the room next off-season to provide depth for the long-term future.

I included a cornerback in the first round of my early offseason way-too-early mock draft. It appears there will be extra eyes on the college ranks this season for cornerbacks.