Bolts From The Blue
Ashton Jeanty was the best running back in the country while Mason Taylor just impressed at the Reese’s Senior Bowl.
The Chargers will enter the 2025 offseason with a handful of needs. Some on offense and some on defense. It’ll be up to Joe Hortiz and Jim Harbaugh to decide when and how those needs are addressed between free agency and the draft.
In a new two-round mock draft by ESPN’s Matt Miller, he has the Chargers using the draft as their means of reinforcing and building an offense that will help them get over the hump that kept them from advancing past the wild card round in this year’s playoffs. With the team’s first round pick (No. 22 overall), Miller has the Chargers jumping on the draft’s top running back in Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty.
“Finding a landing spot for a running back in Round 1 is always tough because a mock draft is based on positional value and team need. If we were drafting based on player talent and ranking, Jeanty would be a top-10 pick. As it stands, he could be drafted much earlier than this, but a pre-free-agency prediction is difficult.”
“Chargers fans should rejoice if Jeanty — who rushed for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns as a junior — is the pick, though. He is the ideal replacement for free agent J.K. Dobbins with his power, contact balance and ability to run away from defenses. Jeanty didn’t add a ton in the passing game in 2024 (23 catches), but he is tailor-made for Jim Harbaugh’s downhill power scheme.”
In all honesty? I don’t think the Chargers have to part with J.K. Dobbins to be in a position to draft Jeanty. After watching what the Lions have done with both David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, there’s no reason not to believe Jim Harbaugh wants the exact same thing. A duo of backs that can both punch through a defense or zip around it? Yes, that sure sounds like something Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman would LOVE.
With the team’s second round pick, Miller has the Bolts drafting LSU tight end Mason Taylor, the son of Dolphins legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer, Jason Taylor.
“The Chargers should go heavy on offense to give quarterback Justin Herbert a better supporting cast. The son of Hall of Famer Jason Taylor, Mason Taylor had only six collegiate touchdowns but has the potential to be a major player in the red zone. He impressed at the Senior Bowl and can consistently win on option routes or post-up safeties with his 6-foot-5, 250-pound frame.”
It’s understandable that Taylor had underwhelming production at LSU. The tight ends have been an afterthought in that offense in recent years due to them manufacturing NFL stars at wide receiver seemingly every new year that comes. With Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, Malik Nabers, and Brian Thomas Jr. all coming out of the same position group over the past four seasons,...
