2024 NFL Mock Draft, post-Super Bowl full 3-round projection: Patriots skip QB, Chiefs add WR

5. Los Angeles Chargers: Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia

Getting a new regime in the building is just about the best thing that you could ask for the Los Angeles Chargers. It’d been clear for quite some time that Brandon Staley just wasn’t taking in this environment and that something had to be changed going up to the front office as well in order to maximize Justin Herbert and really make the Bolts a certified contender. 

Enter new head coach Jim Harbaugh and new general manager Joe Horitz. This is a duo that should completely reshape this franchise moving forward, and that should start with finding top-tier weapons for Herbert who aren’t on the back-end or completely out of their prime. 

There’s no better player to fit that bill inside the Top 5 than former Georgia tight end Brock Bowers. While some have criticized his lack of route tree, that doesn’t show up to me on film. He’s not the biggest player, but his quickness for his size (6-foot-4, 230 pounds) negates any shortcomings there. He moves seamlessly and suddenly, creating separation, but also with a cerebral approach to attacking soft spots in zone coverage. 

Where Bowers shines even more is after the catch, where those same physical tools make him an animal, as does his relentless competitiveness to fight for extra yards. That trait also shows up as a blocker where he’s willing and technically sound, even if his size is limiting in that capacity at times. 

This feels like a player Harbaugh will love and, more importantly, who will substantially start to open up Herbert and the LA offense in exciting ways.