Chargers ranked 3rd in USA Today’s post-draft power rankings

I’ve always been a big fan of power rankings. It’s fun to see how some in the media view the ever-shifting landscape that is the NFL, especially after big offseason events such as free agency and the draft.

After re-vamping their offensive line in March and then following that with a perfect pair of picks at the top of last week’s draft, the Chargers have only seen their stock rise. Seriously, not a single, truly bad move has been made by the team. So of course it’s to be expected that the Chargers would rise from wherever some had them in their end-of-season rankings from several months ago.

But would you believe it if I told you that someone loved the Chargers’ offseason moves so much that they ranked them third in the entire league following the draft? Well, that’s exactly what USA Today’s Dour Farrar did in his latest rankings at Touchdown Wire.

Here’s what he had to say about the team’s placement:

“The last we saw of Chargers first-round offensive tackle Rashawn Slater, the Northwestern alum was kicking Chase Young’s butt, and Young just won Defensive Rookie of the Year. Now, Slater will protect the blind side of 2020 Offensive Rookie of the Year Justin Herbert. Nice transition for either the best or the second-best tackle in this class, depending on your preference. Left tackle was the Chargers’ one glaring need, and they nailed the fix with Slater. Second-round cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. is a perfect fit for new head coach Brandon Staley’s complex coverage schemes, and if everything else breaks right, the Chargers might be ready to compete with the Chiefs for control of the AFC West. And if they’re ready to do that, could control of the AFC be next?”

For context, the top-six in his rankings are the Patriots, Bills, Chargers, Packers, Ravens, and Chiefs.

In all honesty, I’m not entirely sure what the Chiefs and Packers did to fall behind the Chargers and the other teams but I could maybe make a case for the Ravens, whom lost their starting pair of edge rushers from a year ago. On the flip-side, however, they added legitimate receiving threats and re-tooled their offensive line at the same time.

The Chiefs may have released both their starting tackles from a year ago but they already replaced one with Orlando Brown Jr. on top of signing free agent guard Joe Thuney and drafting top center prospect, Creed Humphrey. They return the entire set of weapons on offense, as well. There’s no reason the Chiefs should be that low.

Also, the Packers are coming off a year where they were near the top of the NFL in scoring. Maybe it’s due to the drama surrounding Aaron Rodgers but it’s I just can’t wrap my head around that one, either.

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion, but Farrar is a veteran in this industry and I respect his opinion. If he believes the Chargers are poised for a massive step forward, I think it’s okay if you want to get a bit excited about it.

However, there’s still several months in between now and when things actually matter. Fingers crossed the hype right is more than what it’s shown to be in the past.