The Los Angeles Chargers need to have a great 2024 NFL draft. After (finally!) moving on from Brandon Staley, the Jim Harbaugh era is now here, and this draft is the first step toward finally putting a team around superstar quarterback Justin Herbert. With that in mind, here is an all-offense three-round Chargers NFL mock draft.
With Staley gone, Harbaugh and new general manager Joe Horitz made two divergent decisions. They decided to keep the defense, restructuring Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack’s contracts to keep them in town and scrap the offense, letting Mike Williams and Austin Ekeler go and trading Keenan Allen.
The message here is clear: Los Angeles needs to stop wasting Herbert’s incredible talent with average (at best) weapons around him. That’s why in this Chargers mock draft the franchise focuses on weapons alone.
Round 1, No. 5: WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
Here’s how the Chargers get the 2024 NFL Draft prospect they desire most. The top three quarterbacks — Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels — go off the board one, two, three, and then the Minnesota Vikings trade up to No. 4 with the Arizona Cardinals to take JJ McCarthy.
If that happens and Marvin Harrison Jr. is still available at No. 5, Jim Harbaugh may sprint from LA to Detroit to hand the card to Roger Goodell himself.
Harrison is the perfect player to pair with Herbert for the next five-plus years. He is a big, 6-foot-3 wideout with incredible skills, amazing pedigree, and the production to back it all up. If Herebert and Harrison team up, they will immediately enter the conversation of the best QB-WR tandem in the league alongside Joe Burrows and Ja’Marr Chase and Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs.
Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze, or even Georgia tight end Brock Bowers would be solid consolation prizes here, but if the 2024 NFL Draft breaks right, Harbaugh, Herbert, and Chargers fans can get their dream scenario.
Round 2, No. 37: WR Roman Wilson, Michigan
One thing that NFL teams often do in the draft is not fully address positions of need after they make one pick at said position. Whether the Chargers get Marvin Harrison Jr. or another pass-catcher at No. 5, their work is not done.
No matter how good that first-round wideout is, he can’t make LA’s receiver room elite alongside the likes of Josh Palmer, Quentin Johnston, Derius Davis, and Simi Fehoko alone.
Since there is no tight end or running back worthy of a high second-round selection here, the Chargers will go back to the well and take another WR. And this time, Jim Harbaugh takes a guy he is even more familiar with than his former Ohio State rival.
Roman Wilson played four seasons for Harbaugh and the Wolverines, picking up 107 receptions, 1,707 yards, and 20 touchdowns along the way.
At 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, and with a 4.39-second 40 speed, Wilson can become the perfect slot receiver between the 6-foot-3 Harrison and 6-foot-4 Johnston on the outside. He needs to work on his route-running to succeed in the slot at the next level, but his athletic profile and familiarity with Harbaugh make him a perfect fit for the Chargers.
Round 3, No. 69: RB Trey Benson, Florida State
With Williams and Allen replaced in the first two rounds of this Chargers mock draft, let’s move on to the new Austin Ekeler.
With Michigan’s Blake Corum still on the board, Harbaugh passes up his former Wolverine this time and goes with the speedier Trey Benson from Florida State.
At Michigan, Harbaugh showed his love for running the rock, and he needs a three-down back at the NFL level to do the same thing. While Corum is a solid power back, he doesn’t have the explosiveness NFL teams want from their every-down RB.
Trey Benson is even bigger than Corum at 6 feet, 216 pounds, and he ran a blazing 4.39 40-yard dash at the combine. Benson only has 316 carries in three college seasons but managed over 900 yards and 23 total touchdowns in his last two seasons after transferring from Oregon to FSU.
Benson is an ideal NFL prospect, and if Harbaugh wants to use a run-based offense to help Herbert have more time and freedom to do what he does best when it matters most, the Seminoles runner is a great back to start with.
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