Chargers News: Examining Los Angeles’s Most Important Positions in the NFL Draft

Joe Hortiz, the new general manager of the Los Angeles Chargers, has a busy month ahead of him.

Hortiz’s ruthlessness has likely won over some Bolts fans after the team made some audacious moves early in the offseason to help it get way under this year’s projected NFL salary cap, most notably the shocking decision to offload six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Keenan Allen.

But before his first NFL draft, there are still a lot of unanswered issues. The fifth choice in the draft is now the Chargers’ most valuable asset among their seven selections. However, there has been a lot of conjecture that LA would trade down to strengthen its young, affordable selection pool.

Daniel Popper of The Athletic breaks down his selections for the positions that Los Angeles has to target most urgently in a recent article.

Los Angeles will definitely need to bolster its current wide receiver group, which now consists of Joshua Palmer, 2023 first-round draft pick Quentin Johnston, and Derius Davis, as a result of the team’s choice to dump its top two wide outs, Allen and Mike Williams. “Even if the Chargers add a receiver in free agency, they should still be looking to draft a receiver early — perhaps as early as the No. 5 pick,” writes Popper.

In addition to wide receivers, Popper thinks LA needs reinforcements at cornerback, running back, offensive line, and interior defensive line. Basically, everyone significant outside of

, Khalil Mack, and Joey Bosa—the latter two having recently renegotiated their contracts to remain with the team.