My top prospects for the Chargers on Day 3

Alright guys, we’re officially a day away from the 2021 NFL draft. We’ve been through my favorite picks from days one and two in this year’s event and we’re now going to top it all off with my favorite late-day selections.

I like several interior offensive lineman on day three and I believe the Chargers, if they did their homework to the degree they say they do, should be able to find multiple impact players whether as special teams contributors or rotational pieces.

Let’s skip the frills and dive right in.

1.) OG Aaron Banks, Notre Dame

Banks ended his career with the Fighting Irish on a streak of 32-straight starts at guard. In 2020, he was named a First-Team All-American by the Associated Press and other media outlets after helping Notre Dame to a 10-0 before falling for the first time all season against Clemson in the ACC Championship Game.

At just under 6’6 and 330 pounds, Banks is built like a Mack truck. Overall, his athletic profile shows a more explosive athlete with his 31-inch vertical, although his broad of 8’4” is quite underwhelming. He’s still an above-average athlete for the position, but his film presented notable concerns as a pass protector against speed rushers and blips in his snap off the line that left much to be desired. He’s a natural pain to get around for pass rushers and he can lay the wood when given enough space to gather momentum — hence a good fit in power run schemes — but his weight room ability doesn’t always seem to translate onto the football field.

Overall, a solid day-three prospect with upside coming from a blue chip offensive line school like Notre Dame.

2.) CB Avery Williams, Boise State

Williams is a favorite of mine late in the draft as a special teams ace in the making at the next level.

While he earned all-conference honors at corner for the Broncos, Williams was named the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year for both 2019 and 2020. In all, the 5’9, 195-pounder blocked five total kicks in his career on top of recording eight kick and/or punt returns for scores, as well.

Overall, he’s got over 40 starts to his name over his four-year career with Boise State with First-Team All-Mountain West honors as a punter returner from 2019.

I mean, if this doesn’t scream “Draft me Chargers, I’ll be a big help on your special teams unit for years to come,” I don’t know what does.

3.) OG David Moore, Grambling State

Moore enters tomorrow night’s draft as arguably the top HBCU prospect in this year’s class and it’s rightfully deserved. At 6’1 and 330 pounds, Moore is a brick s***house with over 34-inch arms. For context, that’s right up there with how long evaluators want their tackles arms to be, nonetheless their interior lineman.

His 31 reps on the bench were one of the better marks for all offensive lineman, but overall his athletic profile is above-average with decent marks across the board. On film though is where you’ll fall hard for this guy. First off, this man is YACKED. Check out that tricep. The former personal trainer in me is pumped up just looking at it.

Secondly, he’s a clip from offensive lineman aficionado Brandon Thorn showing Moore putting LaTech DT Milton Williams — and elite athlete in his own right — on his butt. It displays the rock-steady center of gravity that Moore plays with and the incredible functional strength he possesses.

It’s beautiful. I would kill for Moore as someone to come in and compete with Oday Aboushi for the starting right guard spot.

4.) DT Bobby Brown, Texas A&M

If there’s a close comp for Brown that’s already sitting on the Chargers’ roster, it has to be Linval Joseph. Brown is listed at 6’4 and 321 pounds compared to Joseph whom the Bolts have at 329. Like the Chargers’ current nose tackle, Brown possesses the pure, brute strength to walk blockers back into the quarterbacks lap. Even against some of the top interior offensive lineman, Brown has flashes where he looks like the most dominant tackle in the SEC. Of course, that’s not SUPER far off as he did earn First-Team All-SEC honors right next to Alabama’s Christian Barmore, an expected first-round pick this year.

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com has Brown coming off the board somewhere in round three, but his inconsistent motor — his biggest red flag — may be what drops him into day three. Just like there’s the flashed of dominance above, Brown can sometime look like he’s just phoning it in and that can be a massive turn off for NFL evaluators.

Despite that, I think the upside is just too great. He’d battle Justin Jones and Jerry Tillery for snaps inside.

5.) RB Chuba Hubbard, Oklahoma State

I had to include at least one running back in this group because I can’t shake the feeling that Brandon Staley will want to get “his guy” at running back after Anthony Lynn did that with Joshua Kelley. Kelley ended up creating some early buzz with his first-career touchdown against the Bengals in Week 1 but then proceeded to fairly inefficient, finishing with a 3.2 YPC average.

Enter Chuba Hubbard, an uber-productive player who almost earned himself a Heisman nomination in 2019 after he rushed for 2,094 yards and 21 touchdowns. However, in seven games this past season, Hubbard saw his production take a huge blow, finishing with 625 yards and just five scores. He’s also a bit limited in the passing games — or at least, he wasn’t utilized there all that much.

Hubbard’s biggest knocks include lack of true improvisation as a ball-carrier and his ability to fall forward on a consistent basis/fall forward when finishing runs. He’s got all that you want as a patient runner who knows how to set up his blocks and influence second-level defenders but he’ll have to find another gear when it comes to his physicality. Regardless, he’ll be a fine rotational back in a committee, which is something the Chargers have been okay with in recent years.