The Athletic

Welcome to my Chargers Mock Draft 1.0. This is the first of four seven-round mock drafts I will publish between now and the 2023 NFL Draft, which runs from April 27 to 29. Mock Draft 2.0 will publish after the initial wave of free agency in March. Then 3.0 and 4.0 will publish in the weeks leading up to the draft in April. The draft is of particular importance to the Chargers this year. They are more than $20 million over the salary cap, according to Over the Cap. Moves are inevitably coming in the next few weeks to get under the cap. Even if they make aggressive moves to clear space, the Chargers will still have a tough time using free agency to add difference-making talent at positions of need. Instead, the vast majority of that talent influx will have to come from the draft.