Chargers Draft: Tackle, corner or receiver? What recent history favors at 13
By Jason Reed
Cornerbacks taken 10-15 since 2010:
Busts: Vernon Hargreaves III
Vernon Hargreaves III is still in the league and he is young enough where he could find the right team and turn his career around, but it is unlikely. Hargreaves was taken by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 11th overall pick in 2016 and his career has never panned out.
He was decent in his rookie season but that was about it. He only played nine games the following year and was not very good in those nine games, played one game in his third season and was traded from Tampa Bay in 2019.
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He started every game for the Houston Texans last season and was part of a terrible defense that led the team to have such a bad record. He recorded a 41.2 grade on Pro Football Focus. If that is what the Chargers got out of a corner at 13 it would be awful.
Last year’s picks: None
No corners were taken from picks 10-15 in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Disappointing careers: Eli Apple, Trae Waynes
We replace the good careers category with the disappointing careers category. Eli Apple and Trae Waynes are not quite bust material, but they certainly were not worth a high first-round pick in their respective drafts.
Eli Apple is teetering right on the bust line and if he does not have at least an okay season in 2021 then he can be declared a bust. However, he did provide some meaningful snaps for the New Orleans Saints (a contender) so that means something.
He is also on his fifth team since coming into the league in 2016. Again, a bad year in 2021 and he is a bust.
Waynes has not been quite as bad but he certainly has not been great. He was a mediocre cornerback for the Vikings for five seasons and then signed a new deal with the Bengals. He never played in 2020 because of a pectoral injury and being placed on the COVID list.
Pro Bowlers: Marshon Lattimore
Marshon Lattimore is the one cornerback who has had a good career and he has been named to three Pro Bowl teams (ironically enough, he is who I personally wanted the Chargers to take over Mike Williams).
Lattimore is CB1 material, although he can be slightly inconsistent at times. While most times he is lockdown (especially against Mike Evans), he has had some really bad showings in big games.
No corner is perfect, though, and getting someone of his caliber would be worth it.