Los Angeles Chargers: Only one quarterback should be selected in 2019

The second year in a row, there is a belief that the Los Angeles Chargers will draft Philip Rivers’ successor and there is only one real option to consider.

While he still has some left in the gas tank, it is widely believed that the Los Angeles Chargers are laying the groundwork for the future and could draft Philip Rivers‘ successor in the 2019 NFL Draft.

These discussions were happening prior to the 2018 NFL Draft, which was pretty heavy in quarterback talent. Derwin James falling all the way to the 17th overall pick stopped the Chargers from doing so, as James was a rare talent that late in the draft that could not be passed up.

Heck, if James would have been selected with the 16th overall pick then maybe the Los Angeles Chargers would have drafted Lamar Jackson to be Philip Rivers’ successor. That was something that somewhat had legs heading into the draft.

Now the Chargers enter the 2019 NFL Draft with the 28th overall pick in a draft that is not as quarterback heavy. The one caveat, though, is there are not as many teams that need a starting quarterback in this draft.

The Chargers don’t have to draft a quarterback now. Rivers can play at least two more years and could really stretch it to four years if he really wanted. However, with his contract expiring after this season, the Chargers very well could make the decision for him.

There is only one quarterback that we would like to see the Chargers pick in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. It would take him falling in the draft like James a year ago. That quarterback is none other than Drew Lock.

No, it is not Kyler Murray, although it would be awesome to see him on the Chargers. He won’t fall that low, though, now that he is committed to playing football.

Lock is someone that has massive upside and has been compared to two notable quarterbacks: Jay Cutler and Patrick Mahomes.

It is a bit unfair to compare him to Mahomes as that is going to massively raise the expectations around him heading out of college. However, he does have enough raw talent where if he sits behind Rivers for a year, like Mahomes did for Alex Smith, he could learn some valuable things and provide a seamless transition from Rivers.

Lock has a cannon of an arm, is athletic and completely looks the part of an NFL quarterback. He is a bit raw, as most rookie quarterbacks are, and will only get better with a year’s experience to learn in the league.

Lock will probably be picked in the early teens and could even go as high as tenth overall to the Denver Broncos. The Broncos did just trade for Joe Flacco but John Elway loves himself some quarterbacks and might not be able to pass on Lock.

However, if he starts to fall past those early teens picks then there is a realistic shot that he could fall all the way down to 28 based on other teams’ needs. If he can get past the 15th overall pick then Charger fans should begin to get excited.

The teams, in order, after the Washington Redskins (who own the 15th pick) are the Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts and the Raiders again.

The Raiders’ two picks are the biggest threat as Jon Gruden might want to select his own quarterback to groom and get rid of Derek Carr.

However, if the Raiders are still sold on Carr, which seems to be the case since they decided to keep him over Khalil Mack essentially, there is a chance that the team passes on Lock not once, not twice but three times.

Will it happen? Probably not. The chances of Lock falling to 28th are as low as Derwin James’ chances of falling to 17th last year and the Los Angeles Chargers cannot get that lucky two years in a row. Or can they?