2024 Chargers Draft Superthread - Prospect Discussion - Draft Has Started

[gzubeck]

Get ready for Will Shipley buzz...faster than anticipated 4.45.

He would be a great 1-2 punch with GusBus, if we go in that direction at #37, #69.

Shifty, good all around, now apparently NFL explosive level.

Mehh Double Mehhh! I don't see it at all...probably the same people scouting Spiller...Waste of a draft pick at #69.

[dmac_bolt]

I think most people had OC, RB, IDL and TE in free agency. Didn't expect TWO TEs but Hurst is pretty cheap

If betting on the big four: I think most people thought KA and Mack would be back; JB and MW gone

so you are right, not many had both Mack and Bosa back but KA gone!

i guess my reply to that is: If everyone had signing a FA OC, RB, IDL and TE on their list, their draft pronouncements did not clearly reflect that expectation.

[Jack Burton]

Jeremiah isnt always correct and IF we get the Minnesota trade, we could maybe move #23 down a little and still get him. Of course that would be their feel of things of what they hear. Cooper is a good fit for us. Maybe they feel he is worth 23. At his proday, i see he ripped off a 4.45. He ran a 4.51 at the combine.

The guys on Chargers Unleashed did their best LBs of the draft today and both had him #1.

[Boltjolt]

I think most people had OC, RB, IDL and TE in free agency. Didn't expect TWO TEs but Hurst is pretty cheap

If betting on the big four: I think most people thought KA and Mack would be back; JB and MW gone

so you are right, not many had both Mack and Bosa back but KA gone!

Carolina must be paying some of Hurst salary for us to get him that cheap. That's vet minimum from us.

[Boltinloudguy]

The guys on Chargers Unleashed did their best LBs of the draft today and both had him #1.

I’d be happy with any of these LBs

E. Cooper
J. Colson
C. Gray
T. Wallace
J. Ford

Colson’s 4% missed tackle rate is mind boggling great and intrigues me the most.

[Boltnut]

i guess my reply to that is: If everyone had signing a FA OC, RB, IDL and TE on their list, their draft pronouncements did not clearly reflect that expectation.

I had them signing FA's or targeting late round players as depth at all of those positions.
I think all of those FA's are on 1-year deals (other than Dissly)... and signal that they are depth rather than starters long-term.

[Boltjolt]

I had them signing FA's or targeting late round players as depth at all of those positions.
I think all of those FA's are on 1-year deals (other than Dissly)... and signal that they are depth rather than starters long-term.

I think Bozeman and Perryman will start if only for one year as we draft another LB, and a OC may later round 5. The TEs will play a lot or start if we don't draft Bowers.

One year deals is just for comps if we don't need them again. That's how I see it anyway.

[Fleet 1]

March 21, 2024 - 1:35 pm

Cards put up ‘open for business’ sign … There had been some speculation earlier in the draft process that if, as expected, QBs went 1-2-3 with the first three picks in the opening round of next month’s draft, then Arizona would be very unlikely to move off the 4th pick with Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison, the consensus top non-QB prospect in this year’s draft still available. However, Cardinals’ GM Monti Ossenfort made it pretty clear at a presser yesterday that they’ll very definitely be considering offers for the pick.Said Ossenfort: ‘There’ll be a big neon sign that says ‘open.’ Ossenfort also confirmed that he has received calls from several teams about the 4th pick and expects talks to heat up at the NFL’s annual spring meetings early next month. Right now the betting favorite to end up with the 4th pick is Minnesota which is itching the move up from the 11th pick to grab a QB to replace Kirk Cousins who left for Atlanta earlier this month. And if all this sounds a bit like deja vu all over again it just may be as Arizona traded the 3rd pick in the 2023 draft to Houston for the 12th pick last year as well as a 2023 second rounder and first and third round picks this year. The Cardinals then packaged the 12th pick with their own second rounder to move back up in the last year’s opening round to snare OT Paris Johnson. And its mere speculation on our part, but one wonders if the Cardinals did trade the 4th pick to Minnesota for a package including the 11th selection would they consider maybe trading back up with a team like Tennessee and having missed out on Harrison, grab one of the other top WRs this year such as Malik Nabers or Rome Odunze. For the record, only 36 more days to speculate!!

March 21, 2024 - 9:41 am

Big crowd at Horns pro day … Despite competing pro days at Alabama, Ohio State and Southern California, yesterday’s pro day at Texas drew a record crowd of over 90 NFL people including head coaches Mike McDaniel of Miami, Cincinnati’s Zac Taylor and Shane Steichen of Indianapolis. The three coaches were probably there to check out the UT DT combination of Byron Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat who pretty much stuck to position drills. Murphy, of course, has been one of the fastest rising prospects in the 2024 draft class and is now considered to be a potential top 20 pick come April, while the massive Sweat – he weighed in at 367 but still moved well in the drills – is more a early-to-mid second day candidate. TE Ja’Tavion Sanders also figures to be selected in that range, although by most accounts he didn’t have a great workout. Sanders, who is thought to be primarily an athletic receiving TE barely managed a 30-inch vertical; in comparison only one TE that jumped at the combine was under 32 inches. Same for his long jump which would have been as many as 5 inches shorter than the poorest figure in Indianapolis, while he also only posted 8 reps in the bench press. However, dispatches from the site did indicate that Sanders did catch the ball well in passing drills. LB Jaylon Ford, the one prominent Longhorn that did not run at the combine posted a decent 40 clocking in the 4.70 range, although it is likely pro scouts were hoping for something a little quicker. As a side note, Texas QB Quinn Ewers who opted to return to school for the upcoming season and won’t be draft eligible until 2025, did participate in the Longhorns pro day and by all accounts threw the ball very well.

And despite all the pro day drama yesterday there won’t be any break for pro scouts as there are as many as a dozen pro days across the country today including workouts at Notre Dame, Florida, and Utah. The tomorrow its off to Michigan where JJMcCarthy will do his throwing session.

March 20, 2024 - 9:48 pm

Williams pro day workout ‘low key’ … We’ve come to expect these big QB pro day scripted throwing sessions to be as much entertainment as actual football information. However, that did not appear to be the case at today’s workout by USC’s Caleb Williams. There was no music blaring in the arena, there were no cheerleaders, there wasn’t even anyone running at him with brooms, and there certainly were no former presidents in attendance! In fact, it was a rather low energy workout, although it appears that was by design as one of the questions about Williams, a master of the off-script play, was whether he could be effective just throwing from the pocket. Of course, no pro day in shorts is ever going to provide that but for the most part Williams looked effortless throwing the ball. His footwork was close to textbook and he showed off a very smooth release, although it also didn’t appear as if he was letting loose, and he put most throws on the numbers in stride. And that’s probably all he needed to do to lock up the first pick in next month’s draft, if in fact it wasn’t actually locked up a while back. It will be interesting, though, to see if Bears’ GM Ryan Poles, who’ll make the call on the #1 pick, will also take in next week’s pro days for LSU’s Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye of North Carolina.

March 20, 2024 - 7:55 pm

Tide CB Kool-Aid runs OK on bad foot; OT Latham ‘loses it!’ … Needless to say there was a full house at the Alabama pro day earlier with every team represented including head coaches Mike McCarthy of Dallas, Antonio Pierce of Las Vegas, Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin and Brian Callahan of Tennessee. And they likely left town with plenty to chew on. For starters, CB Kool-Aid McKinstry, who was held out of last month’s combine when a fracture in his foot was discovered during the medical evaluation in Indianapolis, did work out today despite the injury. No official results were posted, but McKinstry has generally been credited with a 4.47 clocking which is not bad. However, McKinstry’s vertical of just 34.5 inches isn’t all that good at a position where some players were jumping in the 40-inch range. Having completed his pro day, McKinstry is now scheduled to undergo surgery on the foot on Friday, but is expected to be ready for the start of training camp. It was also somewhat of an unusual day for OT JC Latham who did positional drills, but chose not to participate in the physical testing after also not doing so at the combine. That may have some teams wondering about his overall athleticism; on the plus side for Latham is the fact that he weighed in at ‘only’ around 345 pounds today, down over 20 pounds from his playing weight of over 366 for the Tide last fall. On the other hand, star Alabama ER Dallas Turner, who stood on his very good numbers from the combine, weighed in at a reported 256 pounds up almost ten from the combine. And that’s a better weight for teams looking for someone who can hold up playing a true DE with their hand on the ground.

March 20, 2024 - 7:20 pm

USC QB Williams checks off pro day on road to top pick … All 32 teams were represented at the Southern California pro day earlier today, although the only team that mattered was probably Chicago which was there for one final look at USC QB Caleb Williams their presumptive choice with the #1 pick overall at next month’s draft. And not surprisingly, the Bears had a full complement of front office people and scouts in LA today including GM Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus. In fact, the Bears, who also took Williams to dinner last evening, also brought along newly acquired WR Keenan Allen, who reportedly got to know Williams this year while playing in LA for the Chargers. The Bears, though, were not the only team in LA with a full complement of staff as Washington, which has the 2nd pick overall, was there with head coach Dan Quinn, GM Adam Peters and OC Kliff Kingsbury, while New England, which picks third had de facto GM Eliot Wolf, OC Alex Van Pelt and QB coach TC McCartney at the event. And while his team may be out of reach to draft Williams, Giants GM Joe Schoen made the cross-country trip to LA today, though, the Commanders, Patriots and Giants among other teams are likely going to be more interested in JJ McCarthy’s scheduled workout at Michigan on Friday. For the record, Williams went through a 50-play scripted throwing session which was described as effortless. And just for good measure Williams punctuated to workout by showing off his punting skills (or lack thereof) on the final play. one other curio from Williams’ day was that he measured in at under 6-1, almost 1/2 shorted than his height that was reported at the combine. Again, the NFL Network will have a summary of Williams pro day starting at 8 PM ET.

[Boltnut]

I think Bozeman and Perryman will start if only for one year as we draft another LB, and a OC may later round 5. The TEs will play a lot or start if we don't draft Bowers.

One year deals is just for comps if we don't need them again. That's how I see it anyway.

Both Bozeman and Perryman are good depth with experience.

Bozeman probably came in to teach the new kid the system... possibly start if the new kid is a later-round pick. If the new kid is a 2nd or 3rd round pick... the new kid probably starts. We've been begging for good depth @the center position... now we have it.

Perryman is a true MIKE and Henly is an off-ball LB. I don't think Perryman came in to replace Henly... maybe they rotate according to situation. Perryman in during run situation... Henly in during passing situation. I think they are seriously looking for an elite LB that does everything well and never comes off the field.

The TE position is up in the air for me. It could be Bowers with the #11 pick... it could be a 4th round pick that can both catch and block (Cade Stover or Jared Wiley). Again, with Hurst being a mentor while the youngster develops... an Isaiah Likely type.

[sonorajim]

Both Bozeman and Perryman are good depth with experience.

Bozeman probably came in to teach the new kid the system... possibly start if the new kid is a later-round pick. If the new kid is a 2nd or 3rd round pick... the new kid probably starts. We've been begging for good depth @the center position... now we have it.

Perryman is a true MIKE and Henly is an off-ball LB. I don't think Perryman came in to replace Henly... maybe they rotate according to situation. Perryman in during run situation... Henly in during passing situation. I think they are seriously looking for an elite LB that does everything well and never comes off the field.

The TE position is up in the air for me. It could be Bowers with the #11 pick... it could be a 4th round pick that can both catch and block (Cade Stover or Jared Wiley). Again, with Hurst being a mentor while the youngster develops... an Isaiah Likely type.

I believe Bozeman will start at least until we are sure the OGs are comfortable with their roles. Last year Johnson and Salyer looked like they forgot how to play their new positions after Linsley went out.
We need to get the OGs settled before a rookie C takes over. Zak Frazier 3rd or 4th?

[Boltjolt]

Both Bozeman and Perryman are good depth with experience.

Bozeman probably came in to teach the new kid the system... possibly start if the new kid is a later-round pick. If the new kid is a 2nd or 3rd round pick... the new kid probably starts. We've been begging for good depth @the center position... now we have it.

Perryman is a true MIKE and Henly is an off-ball LB. I don't think Perryman came in to replace Henly... maybe they rotate according to situation. Perryman in during run situation... Henly in during passing situation. I think they are seriously looking for an elite LB that does everything well and never comes off the field.

The TE position is up in the air for me. It could be Bowers with the #11 pick... it could be a 4th round pick that can both catch and block (Cade Stover or Jared Wiley). Again, with Hurst being a mentor while the youngster develops... an Isaiah Likely type.

Is what I'm saying. If it isnt Bowers drafted, A rookie isn't starting over Hurst. Not Stiver, not any.of them. They will learn behind him.

Cooper if drafted will start ahead of Henley who isn't a true Mike. Cooper is a very good fit. I don't know much about Dye.

Not sure what they do at OC now but I'll assume we aren't using a high pick on one now. But we'll see.

It's all a guess with this new regime. We aren't going to get everything in one offseason. But we can be more competitive and contend for the playoffs and slay it in the second off season.

We need another 2nd and 3rd rounder.

[Jack Burton]

I’d be happy with any of these LBs

E. Cooper
J. Colson
C. Gray
T. Wallace
J. Ford

Colson’s 4% missed tackle rate is mind boggling great and intrigues me the most.

I like Gray a lot taking over for Perryman eventually. Pair him with Henley.