Speed demon Brenen Thompson joins the Chargers, but his size and fit raise questions for Justin Herbert's offense.
Let's get the news out of the way and then I'll tell you what I think about it.
The Los Angeles Chargers drafted wide receiver Brenen Thompson out of Mississippi State with the 5th pick in the 4th Round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Now, the Chargers drafted a wide receiver isn't surprising. In fact, I was expecting that they would take a wide receiver and wouldn't have been surprised if it had happened even earlier.
Thompson fits a need for the Chargers, for sure, with his speed. He ran a 4.26 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, which means that he can help to stretch opposing defenses by forcing them to worry about being beaten deep. That should help open up the underneath routes a bit, as well as making it more difficult for opposing defenses to send blitzes at Justin Herbert.
Where it gets confusing is with his size. Brenen Thompson is was measured at 5'9" (and 3/4!) and 164 lbs at the combine. That makes him roughly the same size as Derius Davis, the smallest player on the entire Chargers roster.
I am positive that people are going to make comparisons to Tyreek Hill and point to what he was able to accomplish in Mike McDaniel's Miami Dolphins offense. I do not think this is that. While they may be the same height, Hill has about 30 more lbs of muscle on his frame, making it more difficult for defenders to stop him or move him with their hands.
I've seen at least one comparison to J.J. Nelson, the former 5th Round pick of the Arizona Cardinals who flamed out of the league after four seasons. That's probably closer to my opinion here, but I always like the idea of giving McDaniel a guy with this much speed and occasionally letting him cook (J.J. Nelson could've benefitted from McDaniel!).
The thing that bothers me the most about this pick is really the fit. Ladd McConkey is already an undersized WR that struggles to get off of a defender's bump at the line of scrimmage. Now, while the Chargers are openly contemplating letting Quentin Johnston hit free agency after this season, the team adds another guy that can't replace him?
This also probably means the team won't be re-signing Keenan Allen, for fear of having three (or more) slot WRs and only one spot to play them.
I really don't understand the logic behind the Chargers moves or plans in regards to their WRs, but I hope face-of-the-franchise Justin Herbert does.