Los Angeles Chargers: What does the team still need?

The Los Angeles Chargers loaded up on the offensive line during the NFL draft, selecting three players to help improve a unit that has struggled greatly in recent years.

That had to make Philip Rivers smile, as did first-round pick, wide receiver Mike Williams.

The Chargers should have a vastly improved offensive line as well as a team with more depth, something the organization seemed intent on fixing after all the injuries suffered during last season.

Top to bottom, the Chargers have one of the more talented rosters in the NFL. So what is it missing?

It might be nitpicking, but there still is no depth behind Philip Rivers at the quarterback position. Though it was speculated this would be the year the Chargers drafted a succession plan for the veteran quarterback, general manager Tom Telesco again elected not to do that, making four years in a row since he’s drafted a quarterback.

For me, it’s not even that they don’t have a succession plan, but it’s the fact that there might not be another capable quarterback on the roster.

Now, those of you who have followed Rivers’ career know that he has taken every offensive snap since 2006, a streak that is among the most impressive in the league if you ask me. By that statistic alone, it’s easy to say the team doesn’t need another quarterback.

You wouldn’t be wrong to argue that.

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That said, it’s a little unsettling to look at the other quarterbacks on the roster. Kellen Clemens might be able to handle a rough situation if he absolutely had to. He’s a veteran that has had to do it before, but I wouldn’t want him in there more than he had to be.

What will be interesting to watch is if one of the young, undrafted free agents on the roster can step up and supplant Clemens as the primary backup.

Mike Bercovici was an undrafted free-agent signing last year and I felt that he would show enough in training camp to become the backup last year. He struggled in the preseason, however, and was released. The team brought him back for a second chance, and he may be able to use his rookie experience to make an impact this summer.

Eli Jenkins was signed as an undrafted free agent after this draft. A four-year starter at Jacksonville State, Jenkins put up massive numbers in college as a dual-threat quarterback. He threw for 7,652 yards and 47 touchdowns. He also ran for another 3,796 yards (averaging 6.0 yards per attempt), while scoring another 42 times.

Though neither guy may be the answer for the future, I’m looking forward to seeing one of them step up and take the reigns of the backup position, perhaps allowing the team to part ways with Clemens.