5 players Los Angeles Chargers should draft in the first round

5 players Chargers should draft in the first round

EVANSTON, IL - OCTOBER 07: Shareef Miller #48 of the Penn State Nittany Lions rushes against Rashawn Slater #70 of the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field on October 7, 2017 in Evanston, Illinois. Penn State defeated Northwestern 31-7. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

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ARLINGTON, TEXAS – JANUARY 01: Defensive lineman Christian Barmore #58 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates a sack on quarterback Ian Book #12 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the third quarter of the 2021 College Football Playoff Semifinal Game at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Capital One at AT&T Stadium on January 01, 2021 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

3. Christian Barmore

When Staley really digs into the Chargers’ 2020 defensive film he’s going to see a need to upgrade their talent at the point of attack. Landing arguably this class’ top defensive tackle at No. 13 would be a big step in the right direction.

Barmore doesn’t have a great history of high-level production at the college level, but he played lights-out football for Alabama down the stretch of his 2020 season. He absolutely dominated against both Notre Dame and Ohio State in the College Football Playoff.

That exceptional film gives NFL scouts a solid taste over what could make Barmore a great player at the next level. He’s got really good size for the defensive tackle position, but it’s his exceptional quickness that makes him a nightmare for opposing offensive lineman.

The Chargers might be able to trade down if they want to scoop Barmore up in Round 1, but taking him at No. 13 could still give them solid value. He’s just the sort of playmaking interior lineman that Staley built his defense around with the Rams.

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