Three players Chargers must avoid in 2024 NFL Draft

The Los Angeles Chargers will select twice in the first 40 picks of the 2024 NFL Draft later this month, and many fans and analysts alike are wondering if former Michigan football and current Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh will select one or more of his former players.

Michigan set an NFL combine record with 18 participants in the 2024 NFL Draft Combine and many of them could be a good fit for Harbaugh’s reclamation project in Los Angeles. The Chargers own the fifth, 37th and 69th picks in the 2024 Draft and could end up with several impact players by the time it’s all said and done.

The Chargers’ draft preparation has come during a time in which a former Michigan receiver made a bold Harbaugh prediction. A Chargers legend turned down the Madden cover recently, and was not due to the alleged Madden curse.

The NFL Draft is not just about the players a team does take. It’s also about avoiding bad picks, and that is exactly what the Chargers must do in year one of the Harbaugh regime.

With that in mind, here are three players the team should avoid this draft cycle:

1. Keon Coleman- 

The fast, rangy Florida State Seminoles and former Michigan State Spartans receiver Coleman has a world of potential but the question is whether he will ever come close to living up to it. He wasn’t the most productive player ever at FSU last season by a long shot and now he is being projected to go on the first or second day of the 2024 NFL Draft.

With several key offensive performers in other cities now, Harbaugh’s Chargers need help at the wide receiver position. Quentin Johnston has a similar build and similar potential to Coleman and Harbaugh will likely focus on building the offensive line and tight end positions instead. Keon Coleman has more potential than Johnston according to some analysts but it’s mostly based on his lack of NFL experience compared to the Chargers’ current WR who has struggled with key dropped passes.

Harbaugh saw Johnston’s skills up close and personal when TCU’s offense shredded his team in the College Football Playoffs. Now it will be up to Harbaugh to bring that version of him back to the field. The Chargers are better off focusing on developing the players they have rather than bringing in another project like Keon Coleman.

2. Cade Stover- 

The Ohio State tight end was one of Coach Ryan Day’s best players in 2023 and Harbaugh and new offensive coordinator Greg Roman are big fans of the tight end position. Stover doesn’t quite fit the mold of what Harbaugh’s teams traditionally look for in a tight end, however. Cade Stover is also an Ohio State product, something that Harbaugh will likely seek to avoid.

If Harbaugh’s history from Stanford to San Francisco to Michigan is any indication, he will be on the lookout for tall, physical tight ends who can block and catch passes first and foremost. While Stover is a very good all-around player, Harbaugh can find better value further down the draft in players like Ben Sinnott from Kansas State. Cade Stover is talented but Harbaugh is smart enough to hold out for players who fit his system better than the former Buckeye.

3. Kamren Kinchens- 

The Miami Hurricanes safety lacks ideal size for his position and did not fare well at the combine in certain key areas. He also lacks ideal size for the position. With Jim Harbaugh recently talking up current Chargers safety Derwin James, it appears as if he is deadset on creating a stout defense from the secondary to the linebackers and defensive line.

Harbaugh can improve his team’s secondary through the draft, but there are plenty of better options to choose from than Kinchens.