Los Angeles Chargers undrafted rookie spotlight: Josh Corcoran

After four seasons at Northern Illinois, Josh Corcoran joins the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent.

Though Corcoran was a defensive end in college, he figures to be a standup linebacker in the Chargers’ defensive scheme. He will be counted upon to put pressure on the quarterback and proving that he can do that at the next level will be the key to his playing career continuing.

At 6-foot-3 and 251 pounds, he is too small to play defensive end in the NFL. An immediate comparison can be made to former Chargers linebacker Kyle Emanuel, who recently retired. Emanuel, once selected in the fifth round out of North Dakota State played defensive end in college but was an outside linebacker for the Bolts.

He is just about the exact same size as Corcoran.

During his college career, he registered 16.5 sacks and 27.5 tackles for loss. He really stepped up as a senior with 10 sacks, good for second most on the team.

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So who is ahead of him on the depth chart? Quite a few players, actually.

Linebacker is a position the Chargers have placed plenty of focus on over the last two offseasons. The team drafted Uchenna Nwosu and Kyzir White last season before signing veteran Thomas Davis as a free agent this past March. They followed that move by selecting Drue Tranquill in the fourth round and Emeke Egbule in the fifth round of the most recent draft. Don’t forget, Jatavis Brown is still around.

If that isn’t enough, undrafted linebacker Elijah Ziese will also be competing for a spot on the roster.

Corcoran had a fairly productive college career but moving from Northern Illinois to the City of Angels and keeping that level of production will be no easy task.

Chance to make final roster (1-10 scale): 2

Corcoran is a solid player who was a Second-Team All-Conference selection in the MAC during his senior season. But in L.A., there is just too much in front of him in order to find a spot on the 53-man roster.

I would rank him ahead of Ziese on the depth chart, but not by much.

Even if he flashes in camp and has a tremendous summer, it likely would only be good for a spot on the team’s practice squad. However, he could always get the attention of another team that isn’t quite as deep at the linebacker position.