2017 NFL mock draft: Los Angeles Chargers land Cam Robinson

You have to wonder how much more successful the career of Philip Rivers would be if he had better offensive lines during his career. It seems like every year when the draft comes around it’s a need area for the Chargers.

The Chargers haven’t taken an offensive lineman in the first two rounds since 2013 when they picked D.J. Fluker, who flopped hard and is now on the New York Giants. This offseason the Chargers overpaid to get Russell Okung, but the line still needs to get better. Richard Wade of Bolts from the Blue is here to help Rivers out up front in the SB Nation NFL writers’ mock draft.

Wade: The Chargers have been terrible along the offensive line for multiple seasons now and they have done little to change that thus far in the offseason. We see Robinson as an offensive tackle, but others have argued that he will have to slide over to guard as a professional. The Chargers need plenty of help at both spots, so even if that’s the case, he still represents an upgrade to what they have now.

While there are obvious concerns with Cam Robinson’s (he commits a lot of penalties and misses more assignments than you would like to see), he has a lot of upside if he can clean up the mental part of his game. He has excellent functional strength and is an impressive athlete especially for a man his size. Physically, there is nothing stopping Robinson from becoming a Pro Bowler at the NFL level.

The Alabama product represents decent value at this point in the draft and Chargers fans would have to be happy to see Tom Telesco continue to rebuild the team starting in the trenches.

Analysis: It’s true, this is about where Robinson should land in the draft from a value standpoint. This is a good selection given the need for Los Angeles. It would allow Robinson to play early as a guard and eventually push Okung out at left tackle. After getting defensive lineman Malik McDowell in the first round and Robinson here, it would be smart for the Chargers to go after a safety and wide receiver in the rounds to follow.

At 3 p.m. ET Gang Green Nation will be back up making the pick for the New York Jets.