Los Angeles Chargers: Redrafting the 2019 NFL Draft
By Faustino Felix
Picking in the back-end of every round is something very difficult to do, and that’s what the Los Angeles Chargers did last year when they picked at the 28th position. After the first few surefire prospects (if there’s such thing as that) picked at the beginning of the draft, the hit rate begins to drop dramatically.
Chargers’ fans had an optimistic outlook from the 2019 draft class, but after injuries and underperformance, the 2019 draft class ended up being graded C+ in NFL.com’s rookie report card.
As said before, picking at 28th overall means most prospects remaining will have some issues, but with the added knowledge of one year of play, would the Chargers have doubled down on Jerry Tillery? Even if the Chargers’ staff is known for its patience in player development, they probably would have picked different.
While it’s early to be labeled a bust, Tillery’s rookie season was slow, to say the least. Second-round pick Nasir Adderley didn’t fare any better. Believed to be a steal at the end of the second round, Adderley hasn’t had the success expected of him, after struggles with a hamstring injury that saw him end up in injured reserve.
Before going into this redraft, let’s set a few rules. First of all, the team needs to be used will be the ones that the team had entering the draft. There’s no point in saying the Chargers should have drafted Mecole Hardman or D.K. Metcalf instead of Tillery, now knowing that the Chargers would suffer badly from wide receiver injuries and depth.
Obviously, only players not yet selected when the Chargers picked will be available for selection. Another rule is that players redrafted can only be taken 45 picks before they were actually taken, so players like Terry McLaurin and Maxx Crosby get no first-round consideration in this exercise.
Only the first five rounds will be redrafted, as there’s not enough information yet on late-round prospects to change the picks.