2021 NFL Mock Draft: Washington Football Team goes offense in Round 1

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: The Los Angeles Chargers need some offensive line help.

Okay, so technically speaking, that’s only been true a few times, as the Chargers used to play in San Diego, but semantics aside, the team is still looking for the right combination of offensive linemen to get the job done.

Last year, it looked like the team had solved the problem on the right side of the line by trading for Trai Turner and signing Bryan Bulaga in free agency. Unfortunately, those two dealt with injuries on the year, and so did center Mike Pouncey. If all of those players can return healthy in 2021, the line should be in solid shape.

However, there’s still a pretty major hole at left tackle. Sam Tevi played over there last season but he’s going to be a free agent. He wasn’t all that impressive there anyway, so an upgrade is needed.

Vera-Tucker would qualify. The USC tackle is the latest solid lineman to come out of the school and at 6-foot-4, 315 pounds, he could end up being a good left tackle. He also played guard in 2019 next to Austin Jackson, so he would certainly qualify as versatile.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a lineman that moves better than Vera-Tucker in this class. He’s athletic and smooth, and that will allow him to stay with the more athletic edge players in the league. He would certainly be an upgrade on Justin Herbert’s blind side and he is a safe pick as he can kick inside to guard if that doesn’t work out.

Vera-Tucker represents a safe way to fill one of the Chargers’ biggest needs. They have a ready-now roster outside of the left tackle spot, and with new head coach Brandon Staley there to run the defense, they can afford to wait until Day 2 to invest on that side of the ball.