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FanSided

3 teams who should trade for 49ers Solomon Thomas

By Elvis Jerez

PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 27: Solomon Thomas of Stanford visits the SiriusXM NFL Radio talkshow after being picked #3 overall by the San Francisco 49ers (from Bears) during the first round of 2017 NFL Draft at Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Lisa Lake/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 27: Solomon Thomas of Stanford visits the SiriusXM NFL Radio talkshow after being picked #3 overall by the San Francisco 49ers (from Bears) during the first round of 2017 NFL Draft at Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Lisa Lake/Getty Images for SiriusXM) /
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Tight end Hunter Henry of the Los Angeles Chargers. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Tight end Hunter Henry of the Los Angeles Chargers. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /

No. 3: Los Angeles Chargers

Per CBS Sports, the Los Angeles Chargers finished the 2019 season with only five wins and have only seven picks in the 2020 NFL Draft, one per round. That’s not a lot of picks, and they have way more needs than they could address in the draft.

On top of that, a team never truly knows if the talent it drafts will pan out.

So why not make a trade for a proven player like a defensive end, Solomon Thomas?

Solid investing is about maximizing risk versus reward. As Kenneth Arthur of Bolts From the Blue pointed out, Chargers general manager Tom Telesco might not have the stomach for it:

"…the Tom Telesco you know is not a general manager who makes trades. You don’t have to be from San Diego to know that, you just need a computer device, the internet, and Pro-Football-Reference.com. Since 2013, the Chargers have made six trades. Six. It’s an average of one per year, but Telesco made two in 2015 and two in 2017. In that same time span, the Seattle Seahawks have made … 46 trades."

Getting a talent like Thomas would be as close to par as possible for both teams. Considering the return the Chargers got out of the first-round draft capital they spent last year on rookie defensive lineman Jerry Tillery, it makes sense. Pro Football Focus suggested:

"Los Angeles [Chargers] also needs to add depth at interior defensive line after a disastrous rookie season for Jerry Tillery in which he was the lowest graded player at the position in the entire league."

A potential trade could look something like this:

The Chargers would know ahead of time what they have given the three years of data on Thomas.  As long as they play Thomas in his proper role, the investment would pay dividends for years to come.

A reward is not always about how much you gain, but sometimes it’s about how much you don’t lose.