Bolts' Harbaugh hopes for early run on QBs at draft

Jim Harbaugh is counting on quarterbacks flying off the board early at this month's NFL Draft.

The Los Angeles Chargers head coach believes it will set the team up in an advantageous spot with the fifth overall selection.

"There's talk of four quarterbacks going in the first four picks," Harbaugh told the team's website at the GM meetings last week. "If that happens, then that pick really becomes like the No. 1 pick in the draft. If four quarterbacks go in the first four picks, that's not like the fifth pick anymore, that's like the No. 1 pick in the draft for teams that have a great quarterback already."

With the trade of Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears and release of Mike Williams, the Chargers are widely expected to consider a wide receiver with their first-round pick, but an offensive lineman to bolster QB Justin Herbert's protection could also be of consideration.

Harbaugh, set to embark on his first season at the helm of the team fresh off of leading Michigan to a National Championship, would not rule out trading down if the situation presented itself.

"Maybe four quarterbacks don't go in a row," Harbaugh said. "It's unprecedented … that's never happened, but maybe there's still another quarterback there when the fifth pick comes around and somebody wants to [trade up]."

The 2024 NFL Draft is set to get underway on Apr. 25 from Detroit.