The Chargers snag huge Memphis OT Travis Burke at 117. Can he use his massive frame to become a future starter, offering a draft steal?
Yesterday, the Los Angeles Chargers made a trade with the New England Patriots that moved them down eight spots in the 2nd Round of the 2026 NFL Draft. For their trouble, the Chargers received a 4th Round pick and a 6th Round pick from the Patriots.
This pick, which is both the 17th selection in the 4th Round and the 117th selection overall in the draft, was that 4th Round pick that Los Angeles got from New England.
Joe Hortiz and the Chargers front office decided to use it on a project, selecting offensive tackle Travis Burke out of Memphis.
Burke is huge. I mean, huge. He's nearly 6'9" and weighed in at 325 lbs at the NFL Scouting Combine. This is not a tackle that the team intends to slide inside to help at guard, this is a hope that the team can develop Burke's obvious physical advantages and turn him into a starting-level offensive tackle.
Should they be able to do so, it would be a home run in terms of efficient use of resources. Most teams are stuck using 1st Round picks to try and find solutions at offensive tackle, while others reach into the depths of their purse and buy one on the free agent market. It's rare that a team finds anything more than a backup using other means.
And it's entirely possible that Burke never progresses beyond being a backup-level offensive tackle, which he can probably walk in as on day 1 of his NFL career due to his size and length alone. The biggest thing for him to work on might be his speed and athleticism, but those are often elements of development that you see rapidly improve once a person gets into an NFL team environment.
I like this bet. I still think the Chargers are maybe ignoring other, more urgent, needs. I also think this is another in a long line of decisions that shows that the Chargers front office is not worried about losing their jobs any time soon, and I'm not sure why.
That being said, when the opportunity to potentially draft and develop a starting tackle behind Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt only costs your team a late 4th Round draft pick, I feel like you have to jump at it.
Outside of drafting (a pretty old, for an NFL rookie) edge rusher in the first round, I feel like a lot of what the Chargers have done this week has been confusing but defensible. This pick falls into that category as well.