The 2024 NFL Draft was the LA Chargers' first draft in over a decade without Tom Telesco. The former GM now finds himself with the Las Vegas Raiders while the Chargers spearheaded the draft with the duo of Joe Hortiz and Jim Harbaugh.
For the most part, the Chargers have turned in a quality draft class so far that is getting the fanbase excited. While the Joe Alt selection at five was a bit puzzling at the time, it makes much more sense in the grand scheme of the draft class.
Of course, it is great to be optimistic and naturally, every fan is going to see the absolute best out of their favorite team's draft class. This class won't officially be a good one until the players prove it on the field. But based on who the team selected, it appears that won't be a problem.
It certainly looks better than the last few draft classes that Telesco had as GM of the Chargers. The Chargers weren't just tasked with putting together a better draft class, the team was tasked with making up for Telesco's previous mistakes. The team did that with this class and proved that it gave up on one player specifically with its sixth-round pick.
Chargers prove they've given up on Isaiah Spiller with Kimani Vidal selection
Isaiah Spiller was selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft and at the time, Chargers fans thought they were getting a young, dynamic running back who would blossom into Austin Ekeler's replacement as RB1.
That has not been the case. Spiller was not NFL-ready in his rookie season and still wasn't ready in his sophomore season. Even with the season essentially over and there being nothing to lose, Spiller still couldn't even get consistent playing time at the end of the season.
There was a chance that Harbaugh would see potential in Spiller and be comfortable with him as the RB3. In theory, the Chargers would add a veteran running back, a rookie running back and would have Spiller as the RB3.
But instead, the Chargers added two veteran running backs (Gus Edwards and Isaiah Spiller) while drafting Vidal. Spiller is now the RB4 on the roster, and considering fullback Ben Mason may play legitimate snaps, he might be the fifth back on the depth chart.
Spiller now has a massive hill to climb to make the 53-man roster. It is not going to be a case of Spiller fighting for a job over anyone else, it will be a case of Spiller fighting to convince the Chargers that they need to carry a fourth running back on the 53-man roster.
And based on how the Chargers have handled the running back position thus far, it does not seem likely that he will be able to make that case.