Next month's NFL draft is widely expected to be quarterback-heavy at the top. The Chicago Bears are near-universally expected to be taking a quarterback with the first pick. The same is true of the Washington Commanders at No. 2. Most people even expect the New England Patriots to follow that up by selecting a quarterback with the third overall selection.
And it's no secret in and around the league that there are multiple teams that would like to jump up into the No. 3 or 4 slots to take a quarterback. The team with the fifth overall pick in the draft is the Los Angeles Chargers, and the team's new head coach, Jim Harbaugh, thinks the expectations that quarterbacks will come flying off the board put his team in the draft's catbird seat.
"There's talk of four quarterbacks going in the first four picks. Boy, if that happens, that pick really becomes like the No. 1 pick in the draft," Harbaugh said, per NFL Media. "If four quarterbacks go in the first four picks, that's not like the fifth pick anymore. That's like the No. 1 pick of the draft for teams that have a great quarterback already."
The Chargers, of course, have Justin Herbert locked in on a long-term deal. They're not in search of their quarterback of the future; they already got him with the sixth pick in the draft back in 2020. If quarterbacks do go with the first four picks, they'd be in position to take the best skill-position player or lineman in the draft. Even if that doesn't happen, though, Harbaugh still likes where his team stands.
"I mean, maybe four quarterbacks don't go in a row -- it's unprecedented that's ever happened," he said. "But maybe there's still another quarterback there when the fifth pick comes around and somebody wants to ... again, that'd be like the No. 1 pick. ... It's an exciting pick."
L.A. has a lot of holes to fill on its roster, especially after cutting ties with both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. So, the Chargers could certainly look to leverage their situation into gathering assets to build for the future. Unless they want to simply take the best non-quarterback, if presented with the opportunity. Either way, it's a pretty good spot to be.
