2024 Chargers Draft Superthread - Prospect Discussion - Draft Has Started

[Topcat]

I’m telling yall Chargers need to draft Will Shipley he’s another Christian Mcafrey. With yall rebuilding the trenches. Y’all will like this kid. He plays with so much burst.

Shipley's pass pro needs some work...if Bolts think they can coach him up in that area, maybe...I wouldn't be surprised if Harbo drafts fellow Wolverine Blake Corum in round 2...

[Ghost of Quacksaw]

We need a starting TE because we don't have one. Stud would be nice but we definitely have a need there.

A "solid" TE would be a huge upgrade for the Chargers. In recent years, the Bolts TE Room has been filled with guys who were not strong blockers. It doesn't take "All World" quality to fix what ails the Chargers here, although some people seem to have their sights set on getting the next Hall of Fame tight end.

Hey, EYE have an idea! How about getting a couple of great blocking tight ends, who aren't liabilities as receivers? Those should not be difficult to find, or especially expensive.

It all comes down to..... Beef Before Gazelles.

I'm a fan of acquiring players who will allow the Chargers to control the line of scrimmage, on both sides of the ball. That's what will ultimately allow the so-called skill players to shine.

[wu-dai clan]

Huge, huge catching radius.
We have to believe Roman, Brady
will go to work inflicting damage
with this dude and Keenan.
The level of production that brings
means one thing.
Get a running attack
and opponents will tap out.

[SAY OW 55]

Shipley's pass pro needs some work...if Bolts think they can coach him up in that area, maybe...I wouldn't be surprised if Harbo drafts fellow Wolverine Blake Corum in round 2...

Nah Nah Shipley before Corymn. Not with the knee injuries. Even look at Willis Mghee and he was productive. You can coach up pass protection or draft a guy who specializes in that or sign a guy who specializes in that. You gotta draft Shipley.

[SAY OW 55]

A "solid" TE would be a huge upgrade for the Chargers. In recent years, the Bolts TE Room has been filled with guys who were not strong blockers. It doesn't take "All World" quality to fix what ails the Chargers here, although some people seem to have their sights set on getting the next Hall of Fame tight end.

Hey, EYE have an idea! How about getting a couple of great blocking tight ends, who aren't liabilities as receivers? Those should not be difficult to find, or especially expensive.

It all comes down to..... Beef Before Gazelles.

I'm a fan of acquiring players who will allow the Chargers to control the line of scrimmage, on both sides of the ball. That's what will ultimately allow the so-called skill players to shine.

But at the same time you can’t be making excuses for these skills guys. Skill guys show Jamar Chase. Put up numbers regardless. We need to see that from Johnston.

[SAY OW 55]

Yes.he has YAC. And so many of those YACs are underneath clear out route to get him the ball in space and running. Which is very Smart of Kirby at college level. Have the opponent try and tackle this kid. Have your solid blocking unit out in front and let him run fast and strong. But he is doing that vs college level. Vs 19-20 year old players who will never make NFL. Even the SEC half the starters each year don't make/stick in NFL except maybe the very top Alabama which they lost in Championship game and Bowers had 5 catches for 50yds and no TDs. Bowers best game of year was vs Birmingham. Not some other team. Birmingham. Think about it..those yards are full of empty calories.

Wait wait stop.

What about the National championship year? Touchdowns against Michigan and Alabama. Come on now. The kid can play.

[beachcomber]

have seen some recent mocks where Atlanta trades up to 4.... the other team peoples have trading up is Vegas.

[sonorajim]

But at the same time you can’t be making excuses for these skills guys. Skill guys show Jamar Chase. Put up numbers regardless. We need to see that from Johnston.

Nearly everybody on the '23 Chargers could have, should have played better. The owners believed fault lay with TT and Staley primarily.
The '24s will play under vastly different circumstances, for better or worse, regardless of team years. That's not an excuse, rather a simple fact.
While many names will remain the same, I expect Harbaugh's Chargers to be an entirely different team.

[Boltjolt]

Shipley's pass pro needs some work...if Bolts think they can coach him up in that area, maybe...I wouldn't be surprised if Harbo drafts fellow Wolverine Blake Corum in round 2...

Shipley is ok. Not bad really but I like Jaylen Wright better. Shipley isn't a threat to make house calls at any time like Wright is.
Ship is quick, Wright is fast. Benson is fast, both break tackles. Allen is a big tackle breaker too.

[DerwinBosa]

We need a starting TE because we don't have one. Stud would be nice but we definitely have a need there.

We don't need a stud ROT either to win a SB. We have a returning starter who is currently under contract.

So how does it make taking a ROT in the 1st better than taking a TE? There is a difference between need,
upgrade and want. Pipkins belongs in the upgrade class. It would be great to upgrade the position, but it is not a need since he started last year. Had some
good games and bad. We currently do not have a starting center or TE. We are pretty weak at CB as well. We also don't have a starting RB, but those three
positions do not warrant a top 10 pick for the players available much less top 5. Same thing applies to WR. We have starters there, but upgrades would be great.

I think the coaching staff will need this year to evaluate the guys currently on the roster. That includes the O line, DBs, LBs. DL. But we need to fill out the
roster this year with the missing pieces. Those being in no particular order Center, RB, TE, CB, maybe even DL which in my opinion would come before ROT.

No, we don't have a starting right tackle. Trey Pipkins sucks, so we need a right tackle. Do I think the right tackle spot is more important than tight end? Absolutely. Add in the reality that right tackle has been a tremendous weakness on this team for the last 15+ years, which you are not acknowledging, and I think it would be very nice if we would FINALLY get that spot straightened out.

That said, we have the fifth overall pick, which you don't hope to be in position to have quite often. At fifth we're not going to take the player based on the greatest need we have. That would be incredibly stupid. We're going to take the best player available, in hopes that he will have a Hall of Fame career--or close to it. As of right now I think the best player available with the fifth overall pick will be Joe Alt, whom we would play at right tackle. That would hopefully set us up to have one of the top offensive tackle tandems in the NFL (Detroit is currently there now, after taking Penei Sewell seventh overall in 2021 to play right tackle) and be a huge step in our offensive line becoming elite. As I said earlier, if the medical professionals at the Scouting Combine say Laiatu Latu is at no greater risk than anyone else to injure his neck, I'm all about him with the fifth overall pick. Latu would hopefully form a very nice tandem with Tuli for quite a long time.

That's just me, though. I have faith in whatever Harbaugh and Hortiz decide to do.

I do not look at tight end as a huge problem for us to fill, though. I look at what the Ravens have done with John Harbaugh as head coach, in which he has had the most success with his general managers using multiple picks on the position in the mid-rounds. This past season he lost his STUD tight end, Mark Andrews (a third-round pick in 2018), and replaced him with a 2022 fourth-round pick, Isaiah Likely, and went 6-1 in those games, with Likely playing very well while Andrews was out. I have the utmost confidence in Harbaugh taking a tight end in the mid-rounds and molding him into a starter or even STUD.

We lost Hunter Henry (second-round pick) after the 2020 season and replaced him with Jared Cook, who caught 48 passes in 2021--a year in which Herbert threw for 37 touchdowns and over 5,000 yards. We lost Jared Cook after the 2021 season and replaced him with Gerald Everett, who had 58 receptions in 2022 and 51 receptions last year. We've had a lot more success finding tight ends than we have had getting a stable right tackle. It's gone from Jeromey Clary to D.J. Fluker to Joe Barksdale to Sam Tevi to a washed-up Bryan Bulaga (for 10 games in 2020) to Storm Norton to Trey Pipkins. Knowing this, I don't understand why you don't think right tackle is a high priority this offseason.

On a side note, last fall you snapped when I wrote that we should let Austin Ekeler go after this season--because you said he was our best offensive player after Herbert. What do you think now?

[Boltnut]

There are good LB's into the early 4th round.
There are good RB's into the early 4th round.
There are good DT's into the early 4th round.

Sure would be nice to have multiple 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rounders... just saying.
Need a center, need a RT, need a TE, need another WR... depth...
We may need a CB more than anything.

[wu-dai clan]

There are good LB's into the early 4th round.
There are good RB's into the early 4th round.
There are good DT's into the early 4th round.

Sure would be nice to have multiple 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rounders... just saying.
Need a center, need a RT, need a TE, need another WR... depth...
We may need a CB more than anything.

Fourth round ?
That's where we get a value WR to replace whoever.
Brugler has 17 WRs in his Top 100.
Koolaid might still be on the board.