2024 Chargers Draft Superthread - Prospect Discussion - Draft Has Started

[DerwinBosa]

The Steelers just got bounced hard on their ass. They are not a championship teal or remotely close. They are not our target.
Baker Mayfield played a fantastic game, a top shelf performance, you should not take anything away from his game. Their TE dominated the Eagles, but also the Eagles played like ass and tackled worse than launchwhiffy

Who do you want - Latu? Turner? Neither of them are rated Top 5 anywhere I've ever seen so you're giving away BPA value for need imo. All ranking boards are similar, none exactly same - lets go with ESPN board

https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft/bestavailable

There are no defensive players in Top 5, only 1 defensive player in the Top 10 (Turner at 8). I see a few good options for LAC at 5 - Bowers is in that Top 3 option list and I disagree with anyone who says an elite TE is not sufficient value or would not be a big upgrade to the offense. Its an opinion.

If LAC wants to draft defense, they should trade down Latu or Turner at 5 is a reach.

The ESPN, Fox Sports, WalterFootball, and other so-called genius talent evaluators can rank players however they want, but just because they have Bowers fifth and Dallas Turner 13th doesn't mean the new Chargers general manager has to pick Bowers over Turner if he likes Turner more and can't trade down--or doesn't want to take the risk of missing out on Turner even if he is able to trade down. I would have much rather "reached" for T.J. Watt in 2017 instead of picking Mike Williams seventh. I'm sure many people would have said the Dolphins "reached" if they had picked Micah Parsons sixth overall instead of Jaylen Waddle in 2021.

The mock draft experts aren't working in an NFL front office for a reason. They offer nothing more than entertainment value. And I say that with great respect for Mel Kiper, who's a huge reason why the NFL Draft is such a huge event on the calendar.

[DerwinBosa]

A franchise 6 ft 6 240 lb QB with Herberts arm, athleticism and talent trumps the best RB we have ever had

I disagree. Regardless, while Herbert is the most important player on the team, he can't do anything to prevent Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, C.J. Stround, or Miami's offense from lighting up the scoreboard. "Worrying about the defense after getting Herbert his weapons" will get us nowhere we haven't already been--without a Super Bowl ring.

[richpjr]

yeah - I think you’re right. He had 2 very good games stat-wise and the rest were not up to par

In both games against the Texans he got knocked out by with injury. He's no Herbert but he actually played pretty decent considering the line he played behind and lack of WR talent. They REALLY need offensive line help so I'm guessing that will be their first pick but if one of the WR falls I could see them picking that. Just not seeing a QB this year.

[dmac_bolt]

The ESPN, Fox Sports, WalterFootball, and other so-called genius talent evaluators can rank players however they want, but just because they have Bowers fifth and Dallas Turner 13th doesn't mean the new Chargers general manager has to pick Bowers over Turner if he likes Turner more and can't trade down--or doesn't want to take the risk of missing out on Turner even if he is able to trade down. I would have much rather "reached" for T.J. Watt in 2017 instead of picking Mike Williams seventh. I'm sure many people would have said the Dolphins "reached" if they had picked Micah Parsons sixth overall instead of Jaylen Waddle in 2021.

The mock draft experts aren't working in an NFL front office for a reason. They offer nothing more than entertainment value. And I say that with great respect for Mel Kiper, who's a huge reason why the NFL Draft is such a huge event on the calendar.

Well you’re right, but I’ll reply it’s every evaluator, not just 3. They don’t work in FOs and we saw the Mayock implosion. That doesnt mean they are wrong either though and it doesnt mean that every single one of them are wrong. If Jim wants a defender first, i trust in him.

What does MW have to do with Bowers? Do I need to showcase a half dozen top 10 picks that were better than #mid-teen picks to show you are cherry picking?

2020 > Herbert #6. #12 Henry Ruggs.

[DerwinBosa]

Well you’re right, but I’ll reply it’s every evaluator, not just 3. They don’t work in FOs and we saw the Mayock implosion. That doesnt mean they are wrong either though and it doesnt mean that every single one of them are wrong. If Jim wants a defender first, i trust in him.

What does MW have to do with Bowers? Do I need to showcase a half dozen top 10 picks that were better than #mid-teen picks to show you are cherry picking?

2020 > Herbert #6. #12 Henry Ruggs.

You're missing the point. Every year these so-called experts say drafting this player or that player will be a huge reach in the top ten because they have him ranked 15th on their board. It's laughable. A player like Latu dominated his last two years in college, won the Ted Hendricks and Lombardi Awards, and possesses the ideal size and traits anyone would want in a pass-rusher. But we now have to believe he'd be a reach at the fifth overall pick because so-called experts like Dane Brugler and the ESPN scribe you cited have him ranked ninth and 14th.

So I ask you this, besides what you've read, what makes you believe Latu, Dallas Turner, or Kool-Aid would be a reach with the fifth overall pick?

[Boltnut]

The Steelers just got bounced hard on their ass. They are not a championship teal or remotely close. They are not our target.
Baker Mayfield played a fantastic game, a top shelf performance, you should not take anything away from his game. Their TE dominated the Eagles, but also the Eagles played like ass and tackled worse than launchwhiffy

Who do you want - Latu? Turner? Neither of them are rated Top 5 anywhere I've ever seen so you're giving away BPA value for need imo. All ranking boards are similar, none exactly same - lets go with ESPN board

https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft/bestavailable

There are no defensive players in Top 5, only 1 defensive player in the Top 10 (Turner at 8). I see a few good options for LAC at 5 - Bowers is in that Top 3 option list and I disagree with anyone who says an elite TE is not sufficient value or would not be a big upgrade to the offense. Its an opinion.

If LAC wants to draft defense, they should trade down Latu or Turner at 5 is a reach.

You can use any list you want. They are rarely accurate in their analysis or slot projections. Even professional GM's make the wrong choices every year in the draft... just look at all of the DE's taken in front of Tuli last year. How about Marvin Mims over Tank Dell...? ESPN has Terrion Arnold ranked higher than Kool-Aid McKinstry. I watched 7 or 8 of Alabama's full games. In every game, the opposing coach went after Arnold... and stayed away from the Kool-Aid. That includes Harbaugh. That includes Kirby Smart. They know better than ESPN. If you're gonna rank Turner @#8... then you best rank Kool-Aid @#7... he's consistently the best player on the field. Malik Nabers had 10 catches for 170 yards against Alabama. Zero of that came against Kool-Aid. In short... I'm not sure the people @ESPN know what the hell they're looking at.

Do I want Latu @#5...? I could live with that. He's had 23.5 sacks the last 2 years (more productive than Tuli). What I'd really like is a trade back to #8... and 3rd and 4th round picks that would come with that trade back. We have multiple holes in the roster... and almost no depth. The defense was horrible last year... and it wasn't all on Staley. The personnel was bad. You have ASJ, Derwin, and Tuli. That's it. Bosa is very good... when he's healthy. Morgan Fox is a good situational pass rusher. Kendricks was good vs the run... but a liability vs the pass. Gilman played well at times... but he probably played well enough to get signed elsewhere. Mack, Vato, K9, Kendricks, and Gilman are all gone due to cap issues and/or expiring contracts. The cupboard is bare.

BTW... I think you missed my point about Steelers, Bucs, and Eagles. Defense matters. TE doesn't fix that.

[gzubeck]

You're missing the point. Every year these so-called experts say drafting this player or that player will be a huge reach in the top ten because they have him ranked 15th on their board. It's laughable. A player like Latu dominated his last two years in college, won the Ted Hendricks and Lombardi Awards, and possesses the ideal size and traits anyone would want in a pass-rusher. But we now have to believe he'd be a reach at the fifth overall pick because so-called experts like Dane Brugler and the ESPN scribe you cited have him ranked ninth and 14th.

So I ask you this, besides what you've read, what makes you believe Latu, Dallas Turner, or Kool-Aid would be a reach with the fifth overall pick?

Latu talent wise is a top ten pick. The reason why he will drop out of the top ten is solely his medical condition. I would have no problem taking him with our second round pick but taking him inside the top ten is scary as hell.

[DerwinBosa]

Latu talent wise is a top ten pick. The reason why he will drop out of the top ten is solely his medical condition. I would have no problem taking him with our second round pick but taking him inside the top ten is scary as hell.

It's something that definitely needs to be looked into. I can't find anything about what the risks are now.

[Ghost of Quacksaw]

This is what I read more and more. Nabors is only a touch below Harrison as an ELITE WR prospect. And now I’ve been seeing him go at #4. Not good.

Nabers' play reminds me of longtime Carolina wideout Steve Smith-- Runs like a return man, good and remarkably strong hands, and a tough, fierce runner after the catch. He's a competitor in every element of the game.

[Boltnut]

Ya 3 outta 4.
Why not CB #2 bcuz best avail seems to be WR and TE at #5. Even OT is rated higher than the next avail DE on WalterFootball Mocks

IMO, the 2nd round CB's will not be BPA. My preference would be a center (Sedrick Van Pran). But I also see pass rushers (Trice and Braswell). Guards like Cooper Beebe and Graham Barton could enable the Chargers to kick Salyer out to RT. Safeties Nubin and Mukuba... almost every position has better players than the probable 2nd round CB's.

Besides, I think Kool-Aid is every bit as good as the WR's (after MH2), DE's (Latu and Turner), OT's and the TE.
IMO, the Walter Football Mock is a joke. Most of the latest mocks are a joke, IMO. I don't pay much attention to them.

[pigskin]

I don't chime in much except for my couple of man crushes a year. The first this year is Malachi Corley, also known as the yac god! Check him out. I believe we could get him in the 3rd round.

[CanadianBoltFan]

I disagree. Regardless, while Herbert is the most important player on the team, he can't do anything to prevent Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, C.J. Stround, or Miami's offense from lighting up the scoreboard. "Worrying about the defense after getting Herbert his weapons" will get us nowhere we haven't already been--without a Super Bowl ring.

The modern NFL has proven that with the right support on offense and decent coaching an elite franchise QB only needs an average defense to get you into the playoffs every year

Herbert has had to try to over come a historically bad defense the last 3 years...no defense in NFL history has given up more points over that span. That and bad coaching

You try to improve this defense yes, but first you get Herbert set up to get your max return out of your 262 million dollar player