Los Angeles Chargers shouldn’t draft Philip Rivers’ successor in 2019

The Los Angeles Chargers are eventually going to need to find Philip Rivers’ successor, it just should not be in the 2019 NFL Draft.

For the last two years, there has been a legitimate discussion of whether or not the Los Angeles Chargers should draft Philip Rivers‘ successor. Rivers is getting up there in age and taking the Aaron Rodgers approach of having the successor learn under Rivers for 2-3 years is probably the best route.

Lamar Jackson was a possibility last season but the team could not pass up on Derwin James, who fell 10 spots lower than anyone anticipated and was an All-Pro in his rookie season. Sounds like a great selection to me.

Plus, Jackson took over the Baltimore job and was ready for it pretty soon. He would not have seen playing time in LA and nobody would be holding him in as high of praise as he currently is.

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Nobody really expected the Chargers to draft a quarterback with the seventh overall pick in 2017 but there were later options, such as Davis Webb (now on the New York Giants), who would have been a nice choice to sit behind Rivers.

The Chargers instead went with Mike Williams, who battled injuries his rookie season but was fully healthy in 2018 and showed his potential to be a premier wideout.

And now the discussion turns to 2019, where the Los Angeles Chargers have options with the 28th overall pick. Perhaps Kyler Murray falls to the Chargers and the team drafts him; Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports even has the Chargers landing Drew Lock in his latest mock draft, which would be a huge value at that pick.

It makes sense for the Chargers to get a quarterback now. The buzz really picked up last year around the discussion and Rivers is an unrestricted free agent after this season. The Chargers could draft a quarterback, give Rivers his last chance and then let him go after this season.

While it is smart on paper, the Los Angeles Chargers should wait to draft Rivers’ successor until the 2020 NFL Draft.

First of all, the chances of Murray or Lock being available with the 28th overall pick are slim. The New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars should be in the market for a first-round quarterback. Sleeper teams such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins and maybe even the Washington Redskins could be in for a first-round quarterback.

And even if one of the two do fall to the Chargers the team would be much better drafting an impact defensive tackle or middle linebacker that can help right away in 2019. The team is still a contender and should try and win now over saving face later.

Plus, we don’t even know how many more years Rivers has left in him. He has gone on the record and said he has no plans to play into his 40s.

If 40 is his cut-off then he still has three more seasons left in him as he turns 40 at the end of the 2021 season. If he is still productive, which he has no signs of slowing down, why move on? Rivers has earned the right to finish his career as a Charger.

Plus, if he is still productive then the team is obviously going to be a contender. I find very hard that Rivers would want to spend the last two years of his career or simply retire after this year if the Chargers are still good.

If this was the 4-12 Chargers then it would be a different story. It is not.

The worst-case scenario is that Rivers regresses and the Los Angeles Chargers don’t plan on keeping him past next season. If so, the team simply uses its first-round pick in 2020 to draft the quarterback of the future.

Sitting behind Rivers for 2-3 years might be helpful, but as we saw from Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson this year, rookie quarterbacks can get the job done.