The LA Chargers have hit some home runs with first-round prospects in the NFL Draft but they have also seen a lot of swing-and-misses. While no draft resume is perfect, that is a big reason why the team has struggled in the depth department in recent years.
Several disappointing picks from the 2019 NFL Draft played their last season with the Bolts in 2022. Jerry Tillery was waived after the deadline and Nasir Adderley likely isn't returning. If Drue Tranquill does not return, that entire 2019 class will be gone after their rookie contracts expired.
Draft busts were not exclusive to that draft class, however, as there are players still on the roster that we can safely call busts today.
Here are 4 current Chargers we can safely call busts:
4. Larry Rountree
Larry Rountree was a sixth-round pick so it is hard to call him that big of a bust. Expecting huge things out of a sixth-round pick is simply setting yourself up to fail. That being said, Rountree represents a larger trend for the Chargers, hence why he makes the list at no. 4.
The Chargers have been unable to draft running backs in recent years which is why the team had no depth behind Austin Ekeler and struggled to run the football. Joshua Kelley looked good in 2022, sure, but the team seemingly didn't trust him. They hardly gave him chances and tried giving Sony Michel the RB2 job over him.
Rountree was moved to the practice squad in only his second year in the league when everyone expected him to compete for the RB2 job in 2022. Very few sixth-round picks can feel like a bust but Rountree does.