4: Joshua Kelley, Running Back
While many LA Chargers fans liked the selection of Joshua Kelley for his status as a bruising power back, Kelley’s ceiling is substantially greater than that.
At UCLA (and UC Davis before that) Kelley primarily earned his stripes as a physical downhill runner. In fact, he was often too reliant on his power, as he would frequently seek to initiate contact rather than avoid tacklers.
Despite not showing it frequently, Kelley has occasionally demonstrated the ability to use his decent athleticism to be an elusive player.
Big play of the scoring drive comes on this run by Joshua Kelley to get him over 1,000 yards on the season … and then … pic.twitter.com/lCeCW5a8ex
— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) December 1, 2019
On top of this, Kelley possesses three-down potential as a runner. Many bruising running backs need to be taken out on third and medium plays, but Kelley has soft hands that can make him a multi-dimensional threat.
With some development, Kelley could hit his ceiling as a top 20 back in the NFL. Kelley does not have the breakaway speed to be elite, but he possesses the potential to be a quality three-down back.
3: Joe Reed, Wide Receiver
While it is going to be difficult for teams to maximize his talents, Joe Reed has great upside at the NFL level.
While Reed has good speed, he is not necessarily a burner by trade. Reed has good speed, good acceleration, great shiftiness, and good strength. While he is not truly elite in any one physical characteristic, his composite talents give him a great all-around set of tools and a relative athletic score of 9.35 (out of 10).
With this well-rounded skill set, Reed will be used in a variety of ways, including as a receiver, runner, and as a returner.
If he develops his skills further, Reed can be good at each of these roles. He already possesses elite vision and athleticism, which are both extremely difficult to coach.
Many of the skills that he lacks can be taught. For example, Reed needs to work on his route running skills and technique on releases.
If Reed hits his ceiling, he can be an effective third receiver with the ability to move into the backfield, providing nice scheme versatility. He also has the ability to be the elite returner that the Chargers have lacked for so long.