It will go against everything Philip Rivers wants, but the Chargers would be wise to draft Jared Goff in the 2016 NFL Draft.
The Chargers have a one-year option to move to L.A. and must decide by March 23 whether to join the Rams for the 2016 season, per the L.A. Times. They'll need a face of the franchise should they decide to do so.
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Rivers -- despite signing a four-year contract extension -- has already admitted he doesn't want to be that face.
"Him not wanting to go to L.A. is very valid," former teammate LaDainian Tomlinson said on the NFL Network, per Breitbart. With enough kids to field his own starting lineup, it's easy to see why.
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Admittedly, that's not reason enough to draft Goff, but considering the future is.
Rivers will turn 35 at the end of the 2016 NFL season. As much as Tom Brady (38) is rewriting the book on how QBs age, Peyton Manning (39) and Drew Brees (37) are showing mortal signs. There's no telling how an aging Rivers will play entering the 2018 season, where the Chargers can save $10.5 million in cap space by releasing him, per Spotrac.
That figure balloons to $16 million in the final year of his contract.
By then -- much like Brock Osweiler did with the Broncos -- Goff will be two, three years into his tutelage and prepared to take the reins. The Chargers would be the beneficiaries of two-plus decades of competent QB play.
If 2015 taught us anything, it's that competent QB play is an invaluable commodity. You can't afford to have Matt Cassel out there leading your team. Sacrificing a top-three pick to procure it is a necessary evil in today's NFL.
There is one caveat to this scenario, though.
All mock drafts point to the Browns selecting Goff No. 2 overall. A trade with the TItans for the No. 1-overall pick would be in order. The Chargers would have to further sacrifice the short-term for the long-term.
It's a sacrifice worth making.
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Beautiful throw .. https://t.co/TtsEvojyG3 (vine by @nfldraftscout ) #Goff #NFLDraft #MockDraft
— The Draft Guy (@TheDraftGuruGuy) January 23, 2016
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