The Los Angeles Chargers need a quarterback with Philip Rivers reportedly moving on this offseason, but it probably won’t be Joe Burrow. According to Jay Glazer of The Athletic, the Chargers are not likely to trade up to No. 1 overall for Burrow, or any other quarterback.
Answering a question about this in his weekly mailbag, Glazer wrote, “The amount you have to give up to trade for that number one pick from where the Chargers are sitting, it’s probably going to set a franchise back. They’ve got to be so sure on Burrow and the amount of draft capital you’re going to have to give is going to be an awful lot to move up. For a team like the Chargers, I just don’t see it.”
The Chargers currently have the No. 6 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, and many of the latest mock drafts do have them selecting a quarterback at that spot.
As Glazer noted, trading up — even from No. 6 to No. 1 — will “set a franchise back.” We saw that play out in a big way in recent years, including a few years back when the Chicago Bears moved up just one spot and had to give up a king’s ransom to land Mitch Trubisky.
The Bengals are widely assumed to be sticking with Burrow at the top spot anyway, having a need at quarterback of their own. But given the hype surrounding Burrow these days, and given how desperate teams are to land “the guy,” we won’t be shocked by anything this coming April.