Analysis: The Chargers Should Trade for This Guy

One bold move might put the Bolts over the hump in their recent resurgence

NBC 7’s Derek Togerson offers a trade idea for the Chargers in this commentary

The Chargers have a small pass catching problem. Namely, they are rapidly running out of guys to do it.

Keenan Allen has been gone since the 2nd quarter of the season opener. Antonio Gates has been slowed by a hamstring injury. Now Hunter Henry is fighting concussion-like symptoms and Travis Benjamin and Tyrell Williams missed practice on Wednesday with knee injuries so there’s no telling if they’ll play on Sunday in Denver.

That means Dontrelle Inman, Griff Whalen, Sean McGrath and Asante Cleveland are the only truly healthy guys on the field able to catch the football. That’s not enough.

They have Dom Williams on the practice squad and he showed in the preseason he can certainly play. But if their recent 2-game winning streak is for real and the Bolts are turning the corner to make a run at the playoffs, they need someone else. They need SOMETHING else (yes I’m a big Arrow fan).

The Chargers need another frontline receiver. San Diego needs someone who makes opposing defensive coordinators think, “Now how the heck are we going to deal with this cat?” Somebody who can go get the ball when Philip Rivers drops one in a bucket 55 yards downfield.

The Chargers need Torrey Smith, and he just so happens to be available.

We are six days away from the NFL trade deadline (Tuesday, November 1) and the 49ers have made their underutilized and immensely talented wideout available. The Eagles have already shown interest, which makes sense since Carson Wentz is proving to be a pretty good NFL quarterback. The Chargers have not been linked to the Smith talks publicly … but perhaps they should.

Smith is the consummate deep ball threat. This cat has averaged 17.2 yards per reception for his career. That’s second-best among active players behind DeSean Jackson and just one tenth of a yard behind the mark set by a guy Chargers fans know pretty well … Malcom Floyd.

We all saw how good the Chargers offense was when Philip had Malcom taking the tops off of defenses, and Smith is likely more naturally talented than M80 was. During his time with the Ravens Torrey Smith never caught fewer than 49 passes and a lot of those highlight videos show a defensive back scampering behind him desperately trying to catch up.

That was with Joe Flacco, one of the best deep-ball throwers in the NFL, on his team. In San Francisco, with a bunch of quarterbacks who can’t work the ball up the field with any accuracy to speak of, Smith has 46 catches TOTAL in 23 games. That is not likely going to improve in Chip Kelly's offense that does not put an emphasis on Smith's particular set of skills.

Rivers is also one of the most adept bombers in the NFL so Smith would become a dangerous weapon again in San Diego’s offense. Oh, and in five and a half seasons he’s never missed a game. Resiliency is something the Chargers could use a little bit of right about now.

The Chargers are likely going to get some compensatory selections in the 2017 NFL Draft so they could part with a couple of picks to help the Niners in their rebuilding process.

Now, fitting Smith on the roster will be tough with San Diego’s 2016 salary cap situation but it’s doable if a few other moves are made and there is enough space for the remaining three years on his deal. I think rearranging a few spots now would be worth it to bring in a difference-maker like Torrey Smith.

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