It’s truly never too early to get a head start on the next year’s draft. At least, that’s my humble opinion. It’s also even better when the player that gets paired with the Chargers is one of the most-exciting defenders coming out in next year’s draft.
The Chargers pick at No. 24 in Jordan Reid’s new early mock at ESPN, meaning he also thinks they’re making it to the playoffs for the third consecutive season. With that pick, he has the Chargers taking Ole Miss defensive tackle Will Echoles, a massive
nose tackle with a complete skillset to be a dynamic run stopper and interior pass rusher.
“Echoles took a major leap last season, going from a half-sack in 2024 to five sacks in 2025 and nine tackles as a freshman to 68 as a sophomore,” says Reid. “His pass-rush disruption comes and goes in spurts, but he creates trouble for blockers because of his combination of quickness and strength. Echoles needs to work on his ability to take on double teams but could be attractive for the Chargers, as Dalvin Tomlinson is 32 years old and on an expiring contract.“
As Reid said, Echoles broke out as a true sophomore with 68 tackles, five sacks, and 11.5 tackles for loss to go with five pass breakups. For a guy who played head up on the center for the majority of his snaps, those are some really impressive numbers. You don’t often see a defensive tackle stuff the stat sheet like that and normally that’s a pretty good sign of a transferrable skillet to the pros.
Just look at this clip above.
Echoles explodes off the line of scrimmage, beats the center badly enough that he also blows up the pulling H-back and before crushing the running back in the end zone for a safety. That’s an unreal play in a very pivotal moment of the game. That’s also even more impressive when you consider he’s that explosive and agile at 6’3 and 315 pounds.
The Chargers are developing a good young core in the middle of their defensive line, but if they aren’t able to take another leap in 2026, the Bolts may be forced to address the group further in next year’s draft.
Would you agree with this pick as of right now? Yay or nay? Let us know all of your thoughts below!
