To Draft Or Not To Draft: 5 Questions Before Draft Day

Feb 20, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; San Diego Chargers general manager Tom Telesco speaks during a press conference during the 2014 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

#2 – Trade down?  Trade Up?  Trade at all? (In the first round)

I don’t think we’re going to trade up.  I just don’t think we need to.  Trading down, however, is a major possibility.  The best thing I think that can happen to the Bolts in this draft is if teams do not take QBs early.  If guys like Manziel and Carr are sitting there at 25 I think we are going to get some calls for our pick.  Trading down into the second and picking up an extra pick would not be a bad idea.  The second round talent in this draft is great and we’ll be able to add extra picks and extra impact players.  If we don’t trade down then I’m still confident we’ll get a solid starter at pick 25.

My opinion: Trade down (if possible)

#3 – What’s the Catch?

Where do we go after a receiver?  I wouldn’t be shocked if we pulled the trigger in the first round if the right guy fell to us.  But I also think there are some great guys available in the 3rd and fourth rounds.  Yes it would be nice to have a compliment to Keenan Allen (3rd round), but do we need it bad enough this year to get him in the first and pass on a CB or DT?  Remember there’s still a chance that Floyd could be back this year.  There’s also still a chance that Vincent Brown reverts back to the Vincent Brown of 2011/12.

Second question: what type of WR do we want?  Do we want a big guy like Benjamin (see draft above) or a smaller, speedier guy that would fit better in our new offense (like Brandon Cooks; not saying he’ll fall to us, just using him as an example).  The bigger guy would be a compliment to Keenan and be a nice target for Rivers (who likes to throw it up to the big guys), but the faster guy is what Telesco wants in my opinion and might be a better fit.

My opinion: Cody Latimer in the 3rd (after we’ve taken care of DT and CB)

#4 The Clary Situation

Let me just preface this by saying that I’m kind of a Clary guy.  Boo me all you want but the dude just wants to help the team win.  He will play anywhere he’s asked to play and I think he did a decent enough job at RG last year.  He is, however, not worth his cap hit ($6.25 million).  So how early do we need to draft a guard, for Clary to either have to restructure his contract or be shown the door?

My opinion: If we draft a guard in rounds 1-4 Clary restructures his contract and does what’s best for the team again.

#5 Will Tom Telesco go see “Draft Day” tomorrow night for some early pointers?

Of course not!  He doesn’t need any!  Did you even watch last year’s draft?

So there’s the questions I’m looking forward to getting answers too.  Let me know in the comments which way you’d lean on these issues, or if you have any more big decisions you’d like to throw out there.

Go Bolts!

Dave O

@DaveOBoltBeat