LA Chargers pick Justin Herbert in final 2020 mock draft
With the 220th pick, the LA Chargers select…
Cornerback. Essang Bassey. 220. 889.
While the Chargers are pretty loaded at cornerback, it’s not a bad idea to add some depth with future potential. Essang Bassey was easily Wake Forest’s best defender over the last few years. Over his four seasons, Bassey had 45 passes defended, 227 tackles, and five interceptions.
Bassey is a pretty efficient player as well. He played a total of 863 snaps in 2019 without committing a penalty. That’s incredibly impressive as an elite cornerback on a team, especially with how often pass interference is called nowadays. His reaction time lets him adjust to passes and receiver movement pretty swiftly.
Tackling is probably why Bassey isn’t thought of like a day two prospect. With his great football IQ though, it just feels like a great decision to draft him if he falls this late. Tackling can be taught, but his ball skills can’t be.
Bassey’s 5’9″ height is also a problem. At a certain point, he’ll be exposed when going against the elite tall receivers in the NFL. For this year at least, he won’t have to with such a stacked secondary of Casey Hayward, Chris Harris, Michael Davis, and Desmond King. There wouldn’t be urgency for him to play from the beginning. As long as he becomes a good tackler over time, a good depth piece as cornerback isn’t a bad gain out of a seventh-round pick.
Next. Chargers: Predicting the first six picks of the NFL Draft
As the mock drafts come to a close, Herbert seems like the likeliest pick at six at the moment. Obviously, it all depends on what Miami and New York decide to do prior. On day two, Jackson shores up the left tackle spot on the offensive line. Davis-Gaither reinforces the linebacker group with his great coverage skills.
Jefferson can be a key contributor on offense out of the gate as the third receiver. Taylor can be a situational running back for when the team finds itself in short-yardage situations. Strowbridge and Bassey are two versatile late round defenders who have some really great intangibles, despite not being the best prospects in terms of athleticism.