It’s never too early to begin looking at prospects for the NFL Draft and with the college football season coming to a close soon, it’s the perfect time. The best teams prepare almost a year in advance, and they get their ducks in a row.

For the Los Angeles Chargers, they know that their biggest weakness is on the defensive side of the ball, and we could easily see them looking that way this year. NFL prospect expert Alex Katson of Chargers Wire looked at a few players to keep an eye on for the Bolts, and each of them would help the defense moving forward.

The players that were looked at were edge Jalyx Hunt from Houston Christian, defensive lineman Thor Griffith from Harvard, cornerback Ja’Quan Sheppard from Maryland and edge Zion Tupuola-Fetui, Washington. All four are under-the-radar picks that could help shape the Bolts defense going forward.

Between these players, the one that intrigues me the most is Sheppard from Maryland. Los Angeles needs help at the cornerback position badly, and their secondary definitely could use the boost.

“A Cincinnati transfer, Sheppard was among those tasked with filling in for NFL draft picks Sauce Gardner and Coby Bryant on the boundary in 2022. He did that job well enough to merit a transfer to Maryland, a more prominent program where he’s shown more scheme versatility than the Cover 3 shell the Bearcats major in. The Big Ten is full of receiver talent and Sheppard has held his own, likely earning himself an all-star game invite in the process.”

Per Alex Katson of Chargers Wire

The Chargers have to be able to stop the pass in this age of the NFL, so having solid corners is a must. They have been burned for big plays all season, so getting a guy like Sheppard would help.

This season with Maryland, Sheppard has 28 combined tackles, with three of them for loss. He also has one sack as well, and LA should take a look at him next season.

The other three players all could help this team next season, and they could always use another edge rusher. The Chargers have some work to do this coming offseason to address the defense, and it all starts with the draft.

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