During draft season everyones brain seems to go absolutely haywire. We are constantly tinkering and contemplating the endless possibilities. Should we trade up? Should we trade down to acquire more picks? Should we trade the pick for a proven veteran? On and on until we have exhausted ourselves. Trust me I’ve been on that trip for months now. To simplify things we are going to look at the top 5 options at pick 13, assuming the front office decides to stay put. I’m also taking next years contract situation into account as well. Im not saying all the following players will be necessarily available by the time the Chargers pick rolls around, but if anyone of the following is available they shouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
Rashawn Slater OT Northwestern:
Its no secret what this team has been longing for since…well…its hard to remember its been so long. Not to mention every franchise quarterback needs a franchise blindside blocker. Well since the team is basically out of the Penei Sewell sweepstakes, Slater may very well be the second best option here. I must admit that like most Slater wasn’t on my radar until Joel Klatt shouted him out mid season. It was then I watched his every snap against OSU in 2019. Slater vs Chase Young and man oh man it was impressive. So much so that I don’t get the talk of moving him to guard. Although he was recruited as a guard out of high school. People are saying that due to one of his knocks which is his height. Standing at 6’3″ 290 pounds, size and arm length might be the only thing that could scare teams off. Slater’s footwork is impeccable and based on the way he handled Chase Young i would say the young man is obviously as strong as an ox. He isn’t a mauler technically but that doesn’t mean he isn’t more than effective. New England has a short left tackle in Isaha Wynn whom they moved from guard to left tackle. Worst case scenario he doesn’t work at left tackle then he would make an all world guard.
Jayce Horn CB South Carolina:
He might not have the highest ceiling out of all the other players at his position in this year’s draft class but Horn just so happens to be my CB1. The son of former star wide receiver Joe Horn, Jaycee has been around world class talent and training his whole life. In my eyes he is a sure thing. Horn is a guy who is very well rounded. Great both in coverage and physical up at the line of scrimmage. He only allowed a 33.3% completion %. At 6’1″ 200 pounds he also very much has the coveted size you look for in a first round cornerback. He totalled a 78.0 coverage grade which isn’t overly impressive on paper but he has the skill set to fit Staley’s system where he lives to have a corner sit in press man coverage.
Caleb Farley CB Virginia Tech:
Speaking of highest ceilings at the cornerback position, cough cough, enter Caleb Farley. Anyone who is a corner with the nickname “the shadow” will grab your attention. Then you quickly see why when you turn on the tape. He has a large filled out frame at 6’2″ 210 pounds along with what he claims is 4.27 speed. Now we know he recently ran a electronically time 49 bit we never officially verified the time…oh how we miss the combine. Farley was recruited to VT as a wide receiver and it’s apparent that he is so athletic he probably could play a vast majority of positions. I would not be surprised to see Farley end up as the next great corner sensation. Only thing that might hold him back is injuries which is really of of the main reasons I have Farley as my CB2. The injury history should be something a team that struggles to stay healthy should be weary of. It’s unknown how this will effect general managers perspective. He could very well be selected in the top 10 but if for some reason he is available at 13, the risk could very well be worth the reward.
SAMUEL Cosmi OT Texas:
Now this is the one that is going to make people say ” now wait a minute!” And then proceed to think that this is going to he a major reach. However, I assure you that people have only come to this conclusion because of the order players go in on the mock draft they look at. These mock creators are making educated guesses and often times do several variations for a reason. I assure you Samuel Cosmi will not fall out of the 1st round. In fact I believe he is a better prospect than the highly hyped Christian Darrisaw. The only offensive tackles I have rated higher than Cosmi are Slater and Sewell. Standing at 6’7″ 300 pounds has everything it takes to be a top 15 pick. He is the most experienced pass protector in this draft class with 495 true pass sets under his belt. His Pro Football Focus grades were extremely high for an offensive lineman with an 89.4 pass protection grade and a 86.1 run blocking grade. The pass blocking grade is even more significant considering the vast majority of his snaps where pass plays. Something a very young franchise quarterback should have on his blind side. People at Texas believe Cosmi is a much better prospect than Conor Williams a few years ago who has since gone onto become a pro bowl guard for the Cowboy’s. The only real knock on Cosmi is his inconsistent hand placement. You know who else has that problem and is a very similar player? one of the elite left tackles in the game Anthony Castonzo and it doesn’t seem to hold him back.
Christian Barmore DT Alabama :
As you can tell defense and offensive line are the only things on my mind with this pick. In fact the success of Brandon Staley’s defense is reliant on what happens up front. Tillery hasn’t shown that he can pick up the slack in anything other than an occasional successful snap in pass rushing so some beef up front along side Joseph Linval would be ideal. Linval isn’t getting any younger and will be on the last year of his contract. In fact Justin Jones will also be on the last year of his contract as well, plus then you factor in Tillery’s short comings. All these things considered Barmore could make a ton of success and im not sure why more people aren’t discussing this idea. Barmore was selected to the first team all SEC freshman team and followed that up with all first team SEC honours the following year as a sophomore. The fact that he has only 747 snaps total in college might worry some teams. That and the fact that he disappeared in some games. However he was an absolute force in the play-offs and all of the other biggest games of the year. Baremore finished with 8 sacks and 4 QB hits on the year along with 27 other QB hurries. Then you combine that with his 20 run stops at or behind the line of scrimmage and 4 passes batted down and you can understand the potential here. Baremore is best suited for a 4i tech defensive line which coincidentally happens to be exactly what Staley likes to run.
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