EL SEGUNDO — Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz found a trade partner, after all.
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Two of them, as a matter of fact.
First, Hortiz traded back in the second round of the NFL draft on Friday, sending the 55th overall pick to the New England Patriots in exchange for the 63rd pick, plus the 131st and 202nd selections. The Chargers then took University of Florida center Jake Slaughter in the second round.
Next, Hortiz sent their third-round selection (86th overall) to the Cleveland Browns for one pick in the fourth round (105th), one in the fifth (145th) and one in the sixth (206th). Instead of having only two picks in the final four rounds of the draft, they now have seven Saturday.
The Chargers went into the draft with five picks over seven rounds, but by completing two trades, Hortiz now has the 105th, 123rd and 131st picks (fourth round), the 145th pick (fifth round) and the 202nd, 204th and 206th selections (sixth round). They don’t have a pick in the seventh round.
“We’re excited,” Hortiz said after the second and third rounds were completed. “The scouts are excited. The coaches are fired up. We’ll get together up there (in the second-floor draft room) and start identifying our targets and get them stacked and have a lot of fun (Saturday).”
It’s expected that the Chargers will shift Slaughter to left guard, filling one of their most pressing needs on the second day of the three-day draft. They filled their need for an edge rusher when they picked University of Miami defensive end Akheem Mesidor in the first round on Thursday.
Slaughter played only guard during the Senior Bowl, having been a center for all of his career with the Gators. As a center, he would be a backup to Pro Bowl center Tyler Biadasz, one of the Chargers’ prized free-agent signings after Bradley Bozeman announced his retirement.
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Slaughter, listed at 6-foot-4 and 303 pounds, was a second-team All-American center, a first-team All-SEC pick and one of the three finalists for the Rimington Trophy as the top collegiate center this past season. He also was a three-year starter and a two-year team captain while at Florida.
“Absolutely,” Slaughter said when asked if he was comfortable shifting positions.
In fact, Slaughter said he played center and both guard positions during practices early in his career at Florida, but then settled on center because that was the best fit for him and for the team. He couldn’t recall playing anything but center during a game over five seasons with the Gators, though.
“I’m preparing to go be a ballplayer, man,” he said when asked how he might prepare for the switch. “I want to get on the field and help the team win games. There’s already a ton of vets in that O-lineman room and I can’t wait to just soak it up from them and go compete with them and go help them win.”
Asked if he believed Slaughter could be an NFL-caliber guard despite having zero game experience in college, Hortiz said, “Absolutely. He’s a player who is smart, tough, athletic, intelligent, a three-year starter, durable. I know there’s a question. He’s a center, but we’ve had long discussions during the process.
“Do we feel like he could play guard, and the answer is absolutely.”
As it stands, the Chargers’ revamped offensive line would look like this when training camp begins in late July: Rashawn Slater at left tackle, Trevor Penning at left guard (with Slaughter as a backup), Biadasz at center (with Slaughter as a backup), Cole Strange at right guard and Joe Alt at right tackle.
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