4 takeaways from the LA Chargers' selections in the 2022 NFL Draft

4. The Chargers valued getting a RB2 more than expected

The LA Chargers took Isaiah Spiller in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft and anyone that follows my work on Bolt Beat or on our Twitter knows that I was not a fan of the selection. Spiller himself is a solid player and was a top-five running back in this class, it is the fit and when the Chargers picked him that I disagreed with.

The Chargers had other pressing needs that could have been taken in the fourth round and the team was better off taking a more athletic back like Ty Chandler. Heck, LA could have taken Chandler in the fifth round and landed someone else in the fourth.

Spiller is another six-foot-plus running back that is not athletic (compared to his peers) and lacks burst. He is in the same mold as Joshua Kelley and Larry Rountree, and while he is a better prospect and absolutely offers more value in the passing game than those two, there are still some concerns with how he will translate to the Chargers.

The Chargers have been obsessed with finding a "short-yardage and goal-line" option to play off of Austin Ekeler when the best depth running back they had did not fit that mold at all in Justin Jackson.

It is clear that the Chargers were desperate to find someone who they thought was a true RB2 in this draft. Instead of selecting a player with a lower ceiling but is a better fit later in the draft, the Bolts took the best running back available earlier than they should have based on the team needs.

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Hopefully, Spiller makes me eat crow and there is a chance that he does so; he is a talented back, after all. I just don't love the fit or where they took him but understand why they took him when they did.