Bolts From The Blue
The Chargers upgrade both sides of the trenches in this new three-round mock draft
Before the 2024 NFL Draft, Jim Harbaugh went on a rant for reporters during the league’s annual offseason meetings about how crucial the offensive line is to the success of the entire team. At a later point in the offseason, he touched on how he views offensive linemen as weapons for the offense, just like you would running backs and pass catchers.
In this three-round mock draft, I have the Chargers selecting another “weapon” in the first round of the NFL draft just one year after Harbaugh and Joe Hortiz used their first draft pick on offensive tackle Joe Alt. While it’s not the sexiest of picks, I can’t help but feel like this is the direction Harbaugh will lean the closer and closer we get to late April.
With that said, let’s dive in.
There were questions about Membou’s ability to play tackle in the NFL due to his lack of prototypical size. However, after his arms were measured at over 34 inches, teams can now check that box off with confidence.
The Chargers do not need another tackle, and although he has more than enough skill to play on the edge, I truly believe Membou could be a high-level guard in the NFL. At 6’3 and over 330 pounds, he’s got tremendous athleticism for his size. In the clip below, you can see just how easy of a mover he is on a wide zone run.
Membou’s combination of power and agility would help the Chargers’ interior become much more capable throughout their zone run scheme. With Trey Pipkins’ future up in the air following an underwhelming season at right guard, the Chargers could immediately upgrade the spot with a pick like this.
After upgrading one side of the trenches, the Chargers choose to reinforce the other side by selecting an athletic pass rusher out of South Carolina. Many of the current Chargers-related headlines in the media are centered around Joey Bosa’s future with the team. By the looks of it, his time in Los Angeles seems to be coming to an end and the Bolts will need to have a plan in replace to not only replace Bosa, but potentially also Khalil Mack.
Kennard is coming off a 2024 season where he posted 11.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss en route to winning the Bronco Nagurski Award, given annually to the nation’s most outstanding defensive player.
Since he plays a premium position, Kennard could easily go higher than No. 55. However, some believe he lacks the strength at the point of attack to battle the league’s top offensive tackles. There’s also his tendency to leave his gap responsibility due to being confident that he could run around blockers instead of engaging and winning.
My hope here with this pick is that the Bolts...
