The Chargers are moving up three spots, using the Patriots’ No. 34 position to do so. New England will slide down three places, picking up Nos. 37 and 110 from Los Angeles. The Bolts will add No. 137. 
This swap of fourth-rounders will lead to the Chargers selecting Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey. The Bolts passed on a glaring need to add Joe Alt in Round 1; they will begin addressing the receiver position tonight. This move represents a continuation of the run on receivers stemming from the end of the first round Thursday night.
McConkey spent his full college career with the Bulldogs, and he played a role in the team’s back-to-back national titles. The shifty slot man showed notable improvement from 2021 to ’22. In the latter campaign, he posted 762 yards and seven touchdowns on 58 receptions.
That was followed by an injury-shortened 2023 campaign, with McConkey being limited to just nine contests. However, he averaged a career-best 15.9 receptions while remaining a key figure in Georgia’s passing offense. At the Combine, the 6-0, 186-pounder ran an impressive 40-yard dash time (4.39 seconds). That cemented his status as one of the top options in a loaded receiver class.
Finding playing time should not be challenging for McConkey. Los Angeles released Mike Williams before trading away Keenan Allen this offseason. As a result, the WR spot has been seen as a major need in spite of the decision to select Quentin Johnston in the first round of last year’s draft. Johnston had an underwhelming rookie campaign, but he should be in line for a notable role in 2024. The same will likely be true of McConkey.
Amazing pick go dawgs!!
I’m beginning to think it wasn’t Bill who was the problem in NE. smh at what they’re doing.
Bill absolutely wasn’t the problem. It was so hard to watch him on Pat McAfee’s draft spectacular last night reacting to the Drake Maye pick. It literally was making me nauseous. It’s no longer about winning in NE, it’s about selling jerseys and duping people into buying tickets on misguided hopes and false promises.
That makes no sense. Winning sells jerseys.
Agreed which is why they should be making the smart moves, not the flashy ones. This is not a good environment for a rookie QB. They should have been trading down and building up the O-Line, adding weapons and future picks. What is the point of drafting a QB only to have him end up like David Carr running for his life and getting sacked a record number of times. Who is watching this kids blindside? They have no left Tackle. But if they drafted Alt how many Alt jerseys are sold?
To be clear I’m a Pats fan. It was day three of the draft when I started getting notifications from the pro shop that they had already decided Maye’s jersey number and his jersey is now available for pre-order. Belichick gave rookies random numbers until they officially earned a spot on the team after OTAs, sometimes after the preseason. Do you think that’s a coincidence? Kraft doesn’t want to take the hit to the profits by having a rebuild year. Maye puts butts in the seats and sells jerseys just because of curiosity and optimism. Just like Mac did. How’d that work?
I do however love the Polk and Baker picks. Also love that they took Milton as a development project. Hopefully they make something out of him so we have someone to play QB when they inevitably get Maye killed out there
But imagine if they had Polk and Baker and Alt and 2 1sts next year and who knows what else they could’ve gotten. Short term the team lacks excitement but long term that’s the smart play.