The Los Angeles Chargers currently have the 22nd overall selection in the 2025 NFL draft. Plenty of dominoes will fall before they end up making a selection in April, the first of which is the 2025 NFL Combine.
Will players fall due to athletic testing? Rise? Who knows, but either way, more answers to the Chargers’ looming off-season questions will occur. There are three specific things the Chargers need to see at the combine.
What The Chargers Need To See At The 2025 NFL Combine
Can They Replace JK Dobbins In The Later Rounds?
The Chargers signed JK Dobbins last offseason as a reclamation project, hoping he can return to form. He sure did and was a spectacular piece of this Chargers offense during the course of the 2024 season. Unfortunately, he did suffer another knee-related injury, which has now led to the Chargers have some pause to re-sign him once more in the 2025 season.
Even with the Chargers drafting Kimani Vidal last year, they will likely look for another option. Free agency does not boast many options at the running back position, spearheaded by names like Aaron Jones and Rico Dowdle. The Chargers are familiar with Dobbins and have seen what he can do in the Greg Roman offensive scheme.
However, if the 2025 NFL Combine boasts strong athletic testing numbers for this deep running back class, it is very possible that the Chargers will opt to look to the draft as a means to replace the beloved Dobbins. Getting younger and cheaper at any position is a good idea, especially when staring down the barrel of the risk that the uber-talented Dobbins is.
The Chargers Need At X Receiver
The Chargers, all season long, were struggling to find a wide receiver who could produce at the “X” position. Whether it was a log jam of the same “type” of receivers or simply receivers who are unable to beat opposing NFL defenses, the Chargers drafting an “X” receiver seems to be their only plausible plan heading into 2025.
If you can see at the combine that receivers like Jack Bech, Jayden Higgins, and Elic Ayomanor can also run on top of their jump-ball abilities, it could mean the Chargers have their eyes set on drafting another second-round receiver to contribute to their passing offense.
This is great information to know before the 2025 NFL Free Agency period, as the players they choose to sign and allocate their resources to could vastly change after the Chargers see the 2025 NFL Combine.
Injury Histories On Cornerback Prospects
The Chargers had an up-and-down season with off-season signee Kristian Fulton. Serving as the Bolts’ CB1 for the majority of the season, Fulton brought immense value, considering he signed for a bargain.
The signing was so cheap due to Fulton’s lengthy injury history, and that trend continued in 2024 while he was suited up in the Powder Blues. Still, he was able to show he is talented and could benefit from playing another year in the Jesse Minter-led defense, even with the Chargers drafting guys like Cam Hart and Tarheeb Still last year.
That said, the Chargers could look at other injury-related “values” but this time in the 2025 NFL draft. Once again, they are looking to get younger and cheaper at another position. If guys like Benjamin Morrison, Shavon Revel, and Tommi Hill fall but get enough clearance from the Chargers team doctors, that very well could lead to another steal for rising General Manager, Joe Hortiz.
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