Chargers' draft history points to this edge rusher in the second round
By Jason Reed
The LA Chargers have a lot of flexibility in the 2023 NFL Draft. There is not one pressing need that the team has to drop everything for in the first round and the entire draft class as a whole is going to consist of players that are going to fill out depth for the team next season.
As a result, it can be hard to put together a Chargers mock draft that is going to reflect what the team actually does in the 2023 NFL Draft. That being said, there are historical trends that general manager Tom Telesco has established that may give us an idea on who the team might be prioritizing.
With that history in mind, there is one second-round edge rusher that seems like a no-brainer for the LA Chargers. Compared to other edge rushers the team has drafted, Auburn's Derick Hall looks exactly like the kind of player the Chargers would draft.
Chargers EDGE players they've drafted under Tom Telesco & their athletic testing compared to the top EDGE players in this year's draft class (lot of missing values unfortunately). Lukas Van Ness fits what Telesco has looked for in his EDGE guys historicaly pic.twitter.com/LCk4IDi92d
— Arjun Menon (@arjunmenon100) April 11, 2023
Derick Hall checks multiple boxes for the LA Chargers as a draft prospect
Hall is one of two edge rushing prospects that check almost every single historical box for the Chargers with Lukas Van Ness being the other. It is highly unlikely that Van Ness is going to be on the board at pick 21, making Hall the next-best fit for the Chargers.
Hall is projected to be an early third-round pick by most draft analysts but as we are reminded in every single draft class, a team will "reach" for a player if they like their makeup. This would be considered a reach but would not be an egregious one in the slightest.
One of Hall's biggest traits that has been lauded throughout the draft process is his character and leadership ability. The Chargers have historically valued those aspects as well, making it even more likely that the team could draft Hall in the second round.
It would be shocking if the Chargers didn't draft an edge rusher in one of the first two rounds of the draft. The team desperately needs depth and needs to get someone in the building to replace Khalil Mack in 2024 when he inevitably becomes a cap casualty.
Hall is someone with legitimate three-down potential because of his ability against the run and with a year of NFL coaching, he should be able to refine his pass-rushing technique. It would be a solid selection and history tells us that the Bolts may go in that direction.
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