Poll Position: Chargers Draft A Bust?
By Peter Thompson
Apr 27, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers draft picks D.J. Fluker , Manti Teo and Keenan Allen pose for a photo with their jerseys during a press conference at Chargers Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Earlier in the year I posted a poll on how the Chargers draft went. I figure it’s time to see what we think now, after game one. Obviously, a draft class takes years to evaluate. But when you hit, you know it almost immediately.. just see Ansah, Ogletree, Jordan.. all of who are in the rookie of the year running. I actually was a big supporter of taking Ogletree in the first round to replace Spikes. Everyone thought it was a reach at 11, since we needed o-line help. Fluker hasn’t played poorly, but I still feel he was a “weird” choice. We could have kept Clary at RT with similar results, and drafted a guard… since Clary is not a great guard, so far.
The release of Demario Williams may be the most puzzling move, as we took a chance on Manti Te’O, and kept Bront Bird as the back-up ?????? Not that I think that Te’O can’t get it done, but he had all kinds of baggage that came with him, and my first choice would have been Ogletree in the first round.. who is currently lighting up the league… But, I would have been happy with taking Bostic at some point too, since we were giving up picks anyway. we also took Ingram, when I thought we should have taken Mercilus.. who also is doing much better than Ingram since draft day, and Ingram has had an unfortunate injury. I really hope Super Mel comes on like gang busters. But, it seems like Mercilus, and Nick Perry are doing auight.
When I think about it… who is actually contributing from our draft? Fluker is on the field, but is mainly good at run blocking, and is struggling in pass protection. He certainly wasn’t a big factor in the second half of Monday’s game. Te’O is on the sideline, and we gave up a pick for him. Keenan was a no show in game one. Williams is on IR. Tourek was inactive, and Sorensen is a back-up. That’s 5 out of 6 players not helping the team to win, in any way / shape/ or form… so far. How can that be good for a team that needed to hit on 3 out of 7 picks (or six picks, in our case), in order to contend? I think that’s what I remember TT saying was a successful draft ???
So, what I want to know… is… was this a good draft? I personally cringed when they picked Fluker over Vaccaro & Ogletree… and so far… I’m not feeling a whole lot better. Do you?
Was the 2013 Chargers Draft A Bust?