2021 Draft Discussion - Bolts Pick 13th

[TexanBeerlover]

My problem with that is that those CBs are the premium, high paid guys. Quality zone corners are much cheaper. And a good zone D is very effective too. We are playing against the salary cap too.

Good point, but so are premium LT.

So decision should be a simple one, there most likely not be a franchise LT left #13 but better possibility of a premium corner.

Are you saying don’t take best player available because of cost?

[Formula 21]

Good point, but so are premium LT.

So decision should be a simple one, there most likely not be a franchise LT left #13 but better possibility of a premium corner.

Are you saying don’t take best player available because of cost?

I would try to build a highly effective unit at the lowest possible cost.

[Topcat]

My problem with that is that those CBs are the premium, high paid guys. Quality zone corners are much cheaper. And a good zone D is very effective too. We are playing against the salary cap too.

Only problem with your zone idea is that Staley just said in his presser that the corners that play in his system HAVE TO BE ABLE TO MAN UP...I'm guessing we go OT in round 1, MAN corner in round 2, then double dip with another PRESS corner/or versatile safety in round 3 or 4...

[Bolt Dude]

I would try to build a highly effective unit at the lowest possible cost.

With a quality OL our offense is built to score 30+ points/game. When Staley’s D is dialed in we’ll hold most opponents to under 20...even with a 2nd rounder as our CB opposite Davis.

[La Costa Boy]

• 13.
  
  
  Los Angeles Chargers
  
  Kyle Pitts
  TE, Florida
• 47.
  
  
  Los Angeles Chargers
  
  Alex Leatherwood
  OT, Alabama
• 77.
  
  
  Los Angeles Chargers
  
  Paulson Adebo
  CB, Stanford
• 97.
  
  
  Los Angeles Chargers
  
  Benjamin St-Juste
  CB, Minnesota
• 118.
  
  
  Los Angeles Chargers
  
  Walker Little
  OT, Stanford
• 159.
  
  
  Los Angeles Chargers
  
  Simi Fehoko
  WR, Stanford
• 185.
  
  
  Los Angeles Chargers
  
  Divine Deablo
  S, Virginia Tech
• 198.
  
  
  Los Angeles Chargers
  
  Alaric Jackson
  OT, Iowa
• 241.
  
  
  Los Angeles Chargers
  
  Jacob Harris
  WR, UCF

A mock born of the fact that Pitts was there at 13 and I bit. I believe I still fortified Tackle and IOL very well along with good CB and Safety help. Lots of Herbert help in blocking and catching and the back end of the D gets an infusion too. I would take this draft in a Horton Plaza minute......yes I would.

[Xenos]

My problem with that is that those CBs are the premium, high paid guys. Quality zone corners are much cheaper. And a good zone D is very effective too. We are playing against the salary cap too.

That’s why you draft them when you can because they’re relatively affordable the first three years. But at the end of the day good QBs, LTs, edge rushers, and corners are getting paid. Just got to allocate and time the cap accordingly.

[Boltjolt]

Don't know if this has been posted since it's from last night but looking at this, I'm thinking the Cowboys either looking for Pitts or Sewell? But Tyron Smith will be back next season. So don't know about that.
Parsons, Surtain?

[Formula 21]

Don't know if this has been posted since it's from last night but looking at this, I'm thinking the Cowboys either looking for Pitts or Sewell? But Tyron Smith will be back next season. So don't know about that.
Parsons, Surtain?

Thats an expensive slot to move into if you don't want a qb. Is Jerrah trying to dump his?

[FarAwayBoltFan]

Thats an expensive slot to move into if you don't want a qb. Is Jerrah trying to dump his?

It's been reported that Jones wants Pitts.

[La Costa Boy]

It's been reported that Jones wants Pitts.

I have read he is Jonesing for Pitts...............

[Xenos]

Popper’s Takeaway from the press conference:

https://theathletic.com/2507896/2021/04/08/seven-takeaways-from-brandon-staleys-chargers-news-conference/

Honest assessment of LT
The Chargers made three key signings along the offensive line in free agency — All-Pro center Corey Linsley and guards Matt Feilerand Oday Aboushi. Staley said one of the common threads for all three of those moves was “size.”

“We wanted to become a bigger team,” Staley said.

Missing from that group, of course, is a starting left tackle. Feiler has tackle flexibility and played well at right tackle during his time with the Steelers, but he will start his Chargers career at guard, likely on the left side.

In a refreshing moment, Staley gave a concise and direct evaluation of the Chargers’ current depth chart at left tackle.

“There’s certainly a hole there right now,” Staley said.

Trey Pipkins, a third-round pick in 2019, is the starter as it stands. But the Chargers will add another tackle before training camp. Staley made that very clear.

“It’s going to be certainly a position that we need to address before July,” Staley said. “And as you know there’s a lot of different ways to address it within the draft, free agency, trade.”

Several left tackles are still available on the open market, namely Alejandro Villanueva and Eric Fisher. Staley, though, stressed the importance of prioritizing “value” in free agency. The Chargers will not overpay for a veteran. That is a sound organizational approach. So it seems they will look to the draft to find their starting left tackle for 2021 with one of their premium picks — No. 13 or No. 47.

Orlando Brown is available on the trade market for the right offer. But the Ravens are likely looking for a first-round pick in return. That is a steep price I do not see the Chargers matching.

Staley did give a detailed scouting report on Pipkins, who has played right and left tackle in his two seasons with the Chargers.

“He’s flashed,” Staley said. “The good thing is you’ve been evaluating him out there in the fire (in regular-season games). So there’s real-life action. You’re not just watching practice film or preseason. So I think we’ve been able to address, OK, this is where this guy’s game is, this is where he excels, this is where, right now, he needs to improve, and, all right, this is the vision moving forward. … We’re gonna try to figure out where he fits best, but he’s a developing player with a lot of good traits for the position and now he’s got to get with our coaches and be able to mold his game between now and July.”

What is Staley looking for in a left tackle?

“There’s certain characteristics at that position that are important,” Staley said. “Where that tackle position starts for us is being able to pass protect.”

Staley, a former outside linebackers coach, gave one interesting nugget on the types of edge rushers tackles are forced to block one-on-one in the NFL.

“These guys are long, they’re athletic,” Staley.

That could imply the Chargers are looking for length in a potential rookie tackle, which specifically refers to players with long arms. Penei Sewell, Rashawn Slater and Teven Jenkins all have shorter arms relative to the league average for tackles. Christian Darrisaw has a more prototypical arm length at 34.25 inches.


Adderley and the need at safety
When the Chargers let Rayshawn Jenkins walk in free agency, my immediate thought was that Staley had watched Nasir Adderley’s tape from 2020 and come away comfortable with using him as a key piece in his defense this season.

Staley confirmed that Thursday.

“He’s our type of safety,” Staley said. “He can see in the deep part of the field. He’s smooth. He’s got a lot of DB traits for us.

“We really think that he’s a smooth athlete. We think he’s going to be a good fit for how we want to play.”

Where Adderley fits specifically remains to be seen. But Staley mentioned the 2019 second-round pick’s versatility. Adderley’s primary position is free safety. Staley believes he can also flex into the slot — a position he calls the “star” — and fill a sub-package safety-linebacker hybrid role — which he calls the “money” position. To equate it to Gus Bradley verbiage, the Star is the nickel corner role filled by Desmond King and later Chris Harris, and the Money is the dime backer role filled by Adrian Phillips.

One thing to remember, though: Staley’s defense is predicated on showing the offense multiple looks and having players, particularly defensive backs, with positional versatility. Bradley’s scheme was simpler. Fewer roles, fewer calls, but the idea was that this simplicity allowed younger players to play faster and develop more rapidly. Staley’s philosophy is almost the polar opposite, and this is primarily because he believes confusion and disguise are some of the only ways to regularly disrupt the game’s best quarterbacks.

The Chargers’ defensive roles will be much less defined. And players will move around a lot more. Particularly in the defensive backfield.

With that in mind, the Chargers absolutely need to add more safety depth. They have only three safeties on the roster — Adderley, Derwin James and Alohi Gilman. It is a safe bet that the Chargers will be adding a safety in the draft, likely with one of their four top-100 picks.

“I don’t think you can have enough DBs just in the current NFL,” Staley said. “What you have to defend and who you have to defend, I think having DBs on your team, a lot of depth in that position, is a great idea. … From a numbers standpoint, we’ll certainly address that in the coming months.”


The ideal corner in Staley’s scheme
The need for depth and talent in the secondary extends to cornerback. The Chargers moved on from Casey Hayward this offseason. As a more zone-oriented corner, he was not a fit in Staley’s man-heavy scheme. The Chargers need to replace him. Chris Harris will be a free agent next offseason, and finding a long-term solution to pair with Michael Davis is essential.

Staley provided a detailed scouting report of what he is looking for in a corner.

“At corner, they come in a lot of different shapes and sizes,” Staley said. “If it was a one size fits all, then everybody would be doing that. But that’s not the case. For us, it’s more about the critical factors for the position. For us, it’s being able to play man to man. That’s where it starts. You have to be able to cover man to man, and we kind of evaluate that in two phases: how they play man to man from bump (or press) and how they play man to man from off.

“The second thing is, what is their movement like at Level 2 (or the intermediate area of the field)? When they are off, what is their movement like? And we really value that, because you can’t just press in this league, you have to play off and be able to cover receivers from that position too. How do they judge the ball in the deep part of the field? What is their production like when the ball is at Level 3? How do they play the ball? What are their ball skills like? What’s their ball judgment like? How do they play in and out of phase? That’s really important. And then what’s their open-field tackling like? How are they going to be in run support? Because you can’t play defense if your corners can’t tackle. So those are really kind of the critical factors for us, and then certainly size, speed, arm length, all that stuff comes into play. But like I said, there’s a lot of different shapes and sizes of corners. What we try to do is really hone in on those most critical factors for the position and then what that generates is a lot larger pool of DBs that you can work with.”

The top corners available in this draft class — Patrick Surtain and Jaycee Horn — certainly fit this mold. Will the Chargers go in that direction in the first round despite their “hole” at left tackle?

Stay tuned.

One interesting part of this equation is Adderley’s versatility as a slot defender. That would make him a potential replacement for Harris in 2022. So finding a nickel corner in this draft might not be crucial. A corner with inside-outside flexibility would be ideal.


Big plans for Tillery
Defensive tackle Jerry Tillery took a big step forward in his second season. That has been well documented. He was one of the least efficient front-seven players as a rookie in 2019. In 2020, he was closer to a replacement-level player and showed some versatility by playing defensive end when Joey Bosa was hurt. Tillery, who had three sacks, ranked 85th in PFF’s pass-rushing efficiency metric among qualified players, just behind J.J. Watt.

Staley noticed some exciting moments when he watched Tillery’s tape.

“I am a really big fan of Jerry Tillery’s game,” Staley said. “I think this guy is a versatile inside player. … This guy’s got real size, speed. This guy’s production last year jumped off the page for me. And I know that people want to magnify some of the sack production. But I think the tape, what the film said, told me a different story. I think this guy is a matchup guy inside. He’s got real quickness. He’s got real pass-rush ability. And then he does have the ability to play on the edge. I think he was moonlighting on the edge. But he can give you physical body presence if you’re playing a big heavy-run team. Hey, you want to put a physical presence out there, yeah, he has that versatility to do it. But we certainly view him as an inside player and certainly where he’s going to give us the biggest advantage is in the interior pass rush. But we feel like this guy’s got a chance to be a complete player. This guy’s a lot more tough, physical and rugged in the run game than I was expecting. I know that when I watched him I was really excited to work with him because he does have the versatility and traits that we really value inside.”

Staley expanded on what he meant by a “matchup guy.”

“He can move within anywhere in the front,” Staley said. “And so we feel like whether you’re isolating him on the interior on a guard or moving him outside on a tackle, he’s got flexibility to be a problem at both positions. For instance, I think that he’s got real quickness and length that bothers guards. Guards typically aren’t as long of players as a tackle is. So he’s got initial quickness and he’s got really long arms, so he can win that race to tag. … Then on the edge, what he has is if a tackle is lighter, OK, he’s got real physicality to run over you and really be a physical presence on the edge, or wider within the front. So we feel like he’s scheme versatile that way.”

The Chargers need to add some depth on the defensive line behind Justin Jones, Tillery and Linval Joseph. They can find that in the draft, likely on Day 3.

If Staley can unlock Tillery in a way Bradley could not, that would be monumental for this defense.


A glimpse into the new offenseAboushi competing?
Aboushi was a great value signing for the Chargers at one year, $1.6 million. He is in line to be the starter at right guard, and he is coming off his best season as a pro last year with the Lions.

Staley, though, did not name him a starter outright.

“We certainly feel like he’s a starting-caliber player. But he’s going to have to compete,” Staley said. “We feel like last year he played like a starter, like a winning starter in the NFL, and that’s why we signed him. And I feel like he’s definitely got the traits that we’re looking for in that position. I really like his demeanor.”

The Chargers have two backup guards on their roster right now: Tyree St. Louis and Nate Gilliam.

This tells me the Chargers will be adding an interior lineman or two in the draft. The interior line class is deep, and they could wait until Day 3 to find both players.


Tight end depth
Staley said he categorizes tight ends into two groups — blockers, or “Y” tight ends, and pass-catchers, or “F” tight ends. This is pretty standard in the modern NFL. “F” tight ends will mostly line up detached from the formation. “Y” tight ends will line up inline on the line of scrimmage attached to one of the tackles. Of course, there are a select few tight ends who can do both. Hunter Henry was one of those players, but the Chargers let him walk in free agency. They replaced him with Jared Cook, only lined up inline on only 15.4 percent of his snaps last year, according to PFF. That was the third-lowest rate of any tight end in the league.

The Chargers have two other tight ends on the roster, Donald Parham and Stephen Anderson. They both lined up inline more than 50 percent of the time last season, according to PFF. But neither is a true “Y” tight end … yet. They both need to improve as blockers.

The Chargers need to add a polished tight end blocker in the draft. Notre Dame’s Tommy Tremble is a player I think makes a lot of sense. He is a ready NFL blocker who was primarily a “Y” tight end for the Fighting Irish. Tremble has a skill set to develop into a receiving threat, as well, which fits with Staley’s vision.

“What you’re striving for at tight end is their ability to add value in the pass game,” Staley said. “I think that’s where it starts with a tight end.”

[Xenos]

I have read he is Jonesing for Pitts...............

I hope he does trade up into the 4th for a TE.