When the Los Angeles Chargers opened training camp this summer, the conversation around the team was about how far Jim Harbaugh could take them after back-to-back 11-win seasons and two straight playoff appearances.

A month into the regular season, the conversation has changed dramatically.

The Chargers sit at 0-5; they’ve managed just 84 points across those five games, and an offense that was supposed to take a step forward under new coordinator Mike McDaniel has looked stuck from the opening kickoff.

The most alarming part of the slow start has been Justin Herbert's play, who entered Week 5 with a 70.0 passer rating, the lowest of any starting quarterback in the league.

Nobody believes Herbert has suddenly lost the arm talent that made him one of the most coveted young passers in football, but he hasn’t had the help around him to make that talent matter, and that isn’t something a front office can fix in the weeks before the trade deadline.

That puts general manager Joe Hortiz and the rest of the organization at an uncomfortable crossroads.

They can try to claw back into the AFC playoff picture, which would likely mean a best-case finish around .500 and a road Wild Card game against a far more complete opponent.

Or they can take a clear-eyed look at where this roster stands and recognize that the smartest move for the franchise is to put itself in position to land a true difference-maker in next spring’s draft.

That difference-maker is Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who has been viewed as the crown jewel of the 2027 class since his first season in Columbus.

As a true freshman, Smith broke Cris Carter’s school freshman records with more than 1,300 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns, and he delivered one of the defining catches of the Buckeyes’ national championship run.

He entered his junior season already among the top 10 in Ohio State history in career receptions, receiving yards, and touchdown catches, and he has continued to dominate this fall while averaging nearly 20 yards per catch and grading out as one of the best players in college football.

At 6-foot-4 and roughly 220 pounds, he has the size to win contested catches and the speed to take the top off a defense, a combination NFL teams rarely get a chance to draft.

For a Chargers offense that badly needs a focal point, the fit is obvious. Ladd McConkey has proven to be a reliable target, and Tre Harris still has room to grow, but neither one forces opposing coordinators to adjust their coverage, and the loss of tight end David Njoku to injured reserve has made the receiving group even thinner.

Smith would give Herbert the kind of alpha receiver he hasn’t had since the best days of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.

The challenge is that a player of Smith’s caliber is almost certain to go within the first few picks, and every late-season win that doesn’t lead to a playoff berth pushes Los Angeles further from that range.

Harbaugh will never coach to lose, nor should he, but the front office can protect its draft capital, give young players meaningful snaps, and keep Herbert healthy for the long haul.

If the Chargers handle this season the right way, the payoff could be a receiver who defines the Herbert era for years to come.