Draft season never ends. For the Los Angeles Chargers, whose organizational approach is founded on finding value in the later rounds of the draft, this adage is especially true.
It's never too early, therefore, to begin looking ahead at the upcoming draft class. Although things can change pretty rapidly, the 2027 NFL Draft is supposed to be chock-full of talent. Hopefully, the Chargers will enter that draft process with significantly fewer stark needs than they possessed this year.
But Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports has the Chargers slated, at this early juncture, to nab Georgia cornerback Ellis Robinson IV with their first-round pick, and there's a compelling case to be made for why a secondary piece would be one of Los Angeles' primary targets next offseason.
Robinson, for his part, is one of the top players at the position, and he has the physical tools to quickly cement his place as a first-round pick this season. Here's what Wilson had to say about the young corner:
"Robinson is a physical corner who excels at reading the QB and being consistently disruptive at the catch point. He plays with the confidence and technical traits to thrive on an island, whether in man or off-coverage." Ryan Wilson, CBS Sports
But for the Chargers, this pick goes even deeper than that. They have a strong trio of contributors in Donte Jackson, Tarheeb Still, and Cam Hart, but finding their alpha corner and staving off any regression from this group will be a sneaky need for Los Angeles over the next couple of seasons.
It's worth keeping an eye on the cornerback prospects across the 2026 season for the Chargers
As of now, it appears as though either Robinson or Leonard Moore out of Notre Dame will be the top cornerback in the 2027 draft class. So much can change between now and then, though, that it's not necessarily worth labelling a specific prospect as a target for Los Angeles.
Instead, it's the positional need that provides reason for intrigue. The Chargers let Benjamin St-Juste walk this offseason. Unless they add an additional corner over the remainder of free agency, it's clear they feel good enough about their trio of Jackson, Still, and Hart to let an inexperienced player such as Deane Leonard take on duties behind them.
This faith is, for the most part, justified. The Chargers allowed the fifth-fewest passing yards in the entire NFL in 2025, and their cornerback room obviously played a major part in that. But none of Jackson, Still, and Hart are what you would call an alpha corner— a player who you can trust to shut down his man no matter the conditions.
Los Angeles, for the most part, is completely fine living like this. Their overall defensive approach has intends to elevate their secondary to be greater than the sum of its parts. But this leaves room for regression and volatility, especially when players need to be replaced.
Donte Jackson will be a free agent next offseason. In 2028, Cam Hart and Tarheeb Still will hit the open market. The Chargers will likely find themselves in need of a cornerback reset over the next couple of seasons.
It's therefore worth keeping an eye on cornerback prospects such as Robinson over the course of 2026.
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