Draft season is the time of many a smoke screen, but as much as we want to dismiss a lot of draft rumors, we kind of have to pay attention to most of them, too. One big one that isn’t just not going away, but seems to be daily picking up steam, is the notion that the San Diego Chargers could be interested in Oregon quarterback, Marcus Mariota.

San Diego’s initial interest might be loose, as they have a very solid veteran presence under center in Philip Rivers. Rivers is still just 33 years old and arguably has several productive seasons left in the tank. Moving on from an established veteran would be seen as a knee-jerk reaction to missing the playoffs in 2014, too, especially when you consider what the Bolts would have to give up to trade into a spot where they could land the highly touted passer. On top of that, San Diego would be (likely) trading into the #2 spot with the Tennessee Titans and would get a guy they probably can’t count on as a reliable week one starter in 2015.

If it doesn’t look like it’s happening on the surface, perhaps we need to pull back the curtain and realize that Rivers might be serious about not sticking around post-2015. Per reports, Rivers is dead set on playing out his current deal, which will send him into free agency in 2016. With the Chargers potentially moving to Los Angeles in the near future, Rivers is said to be very much against the team changing cities, as he doesn’t seem to keen on the idea of raising his family in L.A. It’s an odd stance since Rivers could still keep his family close by in San Diego (where they already are), and simply commute to Los Angeles for games.

That doesn’t seem to be in the cards, however, which is why Mariota to San Diego rumors are alive and well. The team even traveled to Oregon to meet with Mariota and could be expressing their interest in swinging a trade to make him their new franchise passer. Said trade would likely involve Rivers getting shipped to Tennessee, which would bring him back to his home state. It could end up being the perfect move for both sides, although it’s a fairly questionable move on Tennessee’s side, considering the Titans are not just a quarterback away from contending. Then again, they’d be getting Rivers and multiple draft picks in the potential trade, so maybe it’s not as odd as it first sounds.

For now, all we know for sure is that the Titans seem to be very open to trading out of the two spot. If they don’t, they could take Mariota or Jameis Winston, themselves, or they could add a big impact defender. As for San Diego, they’re simply going through the same scouting process every team does. Should the right opportunity present itself and make sense, they’ll know what they need to about Mariota and be able to make the right call.

As exciting as all of this talk is, it all may mean nothing. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers probably hold the power in this potential trade, as there have been whispers that they’re now more smitten with Mariota with Winston. With the Bolts not nearly as interested in Winston, Mariota going #1 overall could nix this deal before it ever truly grows legs. Just like with every other draft rumor, only time will tell if this move goes down. Stay tuned.