Mock Draft Monday Mailbag Edition: Breakdown of Chargers Fan Mock Drafts and Prospects

The NFL draft is rapidly approaching with just over four weeks remaining before the start of the first round on Thursday night April 23rd. The Los Angeles Chargers are in a tough spot with only five selections, strategy will be key for general manager Joe Hortiz and the Chargers front office.

Former Chargers general manager Tom Telesco revealed he would use mock draft simulators to practice and see as many scenarios as possible in preparation for the draft. Fans have access to most of the mock draft simulators available and there are more being created all of the time.

Fans on X submitted mock drafts to be discussed and reviewed for this mailbag, let's examine several different strategies as well as briefly learn more about the prospects.

Mock #1: A realistic trade

The Chargers have only five picks in this upcoming draft from trades executed he past two seasons. Many media members, when discussing the Chargers, will casually say that the Chargers should trade down from pick 22, without providing important context. This draft class is light on top-tier talent, and the Chargers would need a dance partner who wants to move up; that partner may not be there.

Trading down later, however, makes perfectly good sense. Thank you to JD (@herbxharb on X) for submitting this mock draft featuring a trade in the second round. In the hypothetical trade below, the Chargers move down four spots in the second round from 55 to 59 in a trade with the Houston Texans in exchange for their 5th round pick. The Chargers do not have a 5th round selection of their own, adding another pick in that range would be a great option.

According to the draft value chart, this trade is fairly even but favors the Texans by a few points on the chart.

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— JD (@herbxharb) March 30, 2026

The Picks:
• Olaivavega Ioane, the top guard of the class would be an immediate starter. Very doubtful he falls to 22. Full profile on Ioane here.
• Joshua Josephs, an interesting edge rusher who is light and needs to get stronger but has very long arms and wingspan coveted at the position.
• Bud Clark is a ball hawking safety from TCU who is much more Maverick than Iceman but is a very experienced player.
• Landon Robinson is a tiny but explosive defensive tackle from the US Naval Academy, the Chargers typically value length along the trenches and Robinson reportedly has short arms
• Beau Stephens is one of my favorite linemen in this draft class and I would be shocked if he is available in the 5th round. He also played some center at the Senior Bowl, possibly boosting his value to the Chargers.
• Red Murdock is a hard-hitting linebacker and forced fumble machine from the University of Buffalo, the Chargers have three players on their roster from Buffalo, why not add one

Mock #2: Hits all the needs

The Chargers currently need a third edge rusher, more interior offensive linemen, including a backup center, another tight end, and more youth in the defensive back room. The mock submitted from Ne Ver (@LALNever on x) addresses all of the needs with the original five picks.

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— Ne Ver (@LALNever) March 29, 2026

The Picks:
• Keldric Faulk in the first round is not my favorite although it fulfills a need. Faulk is a massive edge rusher with all the measurables but the production is lacking. He does affect the quarterback when he rushes but his size makes finishing and taking the quarterback down a bit harder.
Check out my full profile on him.
• Emmanuel Pregnon is another one of my favorite interior offensive linemen in this class. Pregnon is a day one starting guard who showed off his versatility flipping to the right side for a game to help with injuries to the right side of the line.
• Sam Hecht is another top-tier interior offensive lineman who has only played center in his entire career. He has short arms, which means he is a center-only prospect in the NFL, and with Tyler Biadasz the clear starter, taking a pure backup center in the 3rd round may be a luxury the Chargers do not have.
• Sam Roush may be the most underrated tight end in this draft class. Stanford is one of the best tight end producing programs in the country, but the program has not been successful lately, leading to prospects like Roush being overlooked. The Chargers were recently at his pro day at Stanford.
• Jadon Cannady is a small cornerback from Oregon who projects to be a slot-only defender but embodies the competitors' welcome mantra.

Mock #3: Hits all the needs from a different angle

Joe Hortiz imported a philosophy from his time in Baltimore to Los Angeles and I do not mean just focusing on compensatory picks. Some positions have a sweet spot to be drafted, others have very strict size and length requirements. Joshua Nau (@NauJoshua on x) hit several of these trends in a mock draft.

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— Joshua Nau (@NauJoshua) March 30, 2026

The Picks:
• Ohio State's Kayden McDonald is a massive human being and an excellent run defender. The Chargers recently signed veteran Dalvin Tomlinson for a similar role. This class is fairly deep on space-eating defensive tackles, and the Ravens almost always found their interior defensive lineman in the third round.
• Cashius Howell has some awesome plays on film. But, he is very small and has historically short arms. Unfortunately, his lack of arm length does show up on film and his role will likely be limited as a designated pass rusher in the NFL
• North Dakota State wide receiver Bryce Lance is the younger brother of Chargers quarterback Trey Lance. More importantly, he is a big and fast downfield receiver
• Logan Jones may be the best pure fit for Mike McDaniel's offense as a center prospect. His size will limit him to a center-only prospect.
• Michigan tight end Marlin Klein is a giant German-born prospect who was recruited by Jim Harbaugh and his staff. He is still improving but the ceiling is very high for Klein.

Thank you to all of the fans who submitted mock drafts for review and discussion!