What will the Chargers be looking for in the draft after free agency?
By Ernie Padaon
What are the San Diego Chargers going to do in the draft after all the moves in free agency. Tom Telesco has set it up that they can go in any direction in the draft. He has filled a lot of the holes with some solid players through free agency.
We have Brandon Mebane that was added to the defensive line and he will be able to clog things up. He will be a nice addition to a weak defensive front. Casey Hayward has been added to the secondary to give the team a solid group of corners. Dwight Lowery can be plugged in as the starter at safety if nobody else is brought in and can do a good job. On offense, the team added Travis Benjamin to give the team the speed they needed over the top.
What needs do the Chargers still have?
The team still needs a center to compete with Chris Watt as the starter. Watt struggled last season and has not shown that he can stay healthy for 16 games in a season. The defensive line added one starter, but there is another hole at the left end position. Who will the team add onto the roster to fill that space? The team could use a playmaker at safety. At the moment, the team has a couple of backups playing at the starting role and if anyone were to go down with an injury, we would be hurting even more at that spot.
With the moves that have already been done, the Chargers can go in any direction with their picks in the draft, but the need for some defensive line help and need at the center position will definitely be filled within the first 3 rounds. In round 1, the team still can go Jalen Ramsey, but the other holes will need to be filled in rounds 2 and 3. With the depth in this draft on the defensive line, the team could add 2 impact starters on defense in the first 2 rounds immediately. In the 3rd round, the team can add a solid rookie center like a Jack Allen or Max Tuerk.
Imagine seeing Ramsey in that secondary with Jason Verrett, Casey Hayward and Brandon Flowers. The defensive front could then be beefed up with a player like Jonathan Bullard in the 2nd round.
If the team were to add to the defensive front in the first round by adding a player like DeForest Buckner or Joey Bosa, then the team can add a center in the 2nd round like Ryan Kelly. Some people are not so stoked about Bosa fitting into the Chargers defensive scheme, but I think he would still work well with the Chargers and would be able to get pressure on the quarterback more than Buckner would be able to do.
Either addition of those defensive linemen would give the team a solid front 7 and would help the secondary out a ton.
If Laremy Tunsil falls to 3, the team can take him. The additions to the roster in free agency allows the Chargers to take the best player on their draft board. What will their draft board look like?
At the moment, I believe that the priorities look like this:
Laremy TunsilJalen RamseyJoey BosaDeForest BucknerRonnie Stanley
I know people won’t understand why Bosa is above Buckner, but Telesco loves production. He doesn’t care about the combine as much as he likes to see production. Bosa was the top defensive lineman in college football last season and has proven time and again that he can get to the quarterback. In my mind, that makes him a Telesco type of player.