2024 Chargers Draft Superthread - Prospect Discussion - Draft Has Started

[charger1_sj]

this board was so in love w/QJ, couldn't even get a word in edge wise.... the only guy that did (Riverwalk) got roundly rolled.

and obviously there is some talent w/the top four or so wideouts, and.... personally really like Fuaga, and do think there are some other very talented Olinemen early.

the query is: who wins you your SB.... WR or the Lines ??

A TE won the last SB. Mahomes and Kelce won the one before that. A rookie WR almost beat the Chiefs, unfortunately he fumbled away a TD.
I get you need a good O line, but it's the playmakers that win games. Mahomes was running for his life at times this year and yet when the chips
were down he relied on his best pass catcher.

We cannot win with the playmakers we currently have. Upgrading the O line definitely a step in the right direction. But by itself it will not win
us a SB. We need guys that can make plays in the clutch. That's what wins games. Ditto goes for the defense.

I'm going to want to see what our roster looks like and what they play like before making any declarations. But this set of playmakers will
not cut it. Running Gus Edwards 35 times up the gut is probably not going to work. He's going to need help both at the RB position and
O line blocking.

[CanadianBoltFan]

this board was so in love w/QJ, couldn't even get a word in edge wise.... the only guy that did (Riverwalk) got roundly rolled.

and obviously there is some talent w/the top four or so wideouts, and.... personally really like Fuaga, and do think there are some other very talented Olinemen early.

the query is: who wins you your SB.... WR or the Lines ??

Who was in love with QJ? It was a shocker of a pick that no one really loved. Everyone wanted Flowers or Kincaid.

Last year was a fairly weak WR class nothing close to this year. The first WR drafted, JSN to Seattle, would be the 7th or 8th best WR in this draft. This WR draft is very deep, there will be 20+ WRs taken in the top 100 picks.

The top 3 WRs in this class are blue chip studs. Jerimiah has them rated 2, 3, 4 in overall player draft rankings to give an example. ONLY Caleb Williams is rated higher.

The lines of scrimmage are very important obviously, i will give you that. But you still have to draft for value. Alt is a good tackle, but I dont think at the level for his position as the top 3 WRs are for their position. MJH is considered a generational talent. Nabers would be the top WR taken in most drafts. I am far from convinced you can say that about Alt. The overall all draft rankings reflect what i am saying.

Hey if JH2 are set on a tackle I am fine with TRADING DOWN to take someone like Fuaga or Latham at 11 for extra picks who are beastly run blockers and natural tight tackles. But I am far from ok using the #5 pick on Alt, who is not Sewell caliber, without extra picks when this team doesnt have a WR1 and the next Larry Fitzgerald or J'marr Chase caliber receiver is sitting there.

[Leslie Grossman]

Some here aren’t getting how much a dominant right tackle fixes the run game apparently. Go watch Sewell and Lane Johnson highlights.
They double team DTs regularly and open holes in the middle, it’s far from just running to their side.
Sewell is so dominant he often pulls to the left and takes out a defender on that side. He’s more valuable to his team than any non QB or LaDanian player in Charger history was to their team.
A big upgrade at RT and TE blocking improves the run game tremendously even with the same guards.
Another thing some aren’t absorbing is we feel they have more upside than Pipkins because they are entering year 3 and far better players in college. Then there is the big advantage of jumbo sets the Chargers would have. The proof is in the pudding on Michigan tape.
The Patriots of old won many games with Jumbo and 2 TE sets even with the so called GOAT at QB.

Here’s another new nugget for some. Go watch the playoff route the Pats laid on the Chargers 6 years ago. Aside from the guys out on D for the Chargers the biggest factor was RT Trent Brown absolutely stone walling Bosa. Would have to go watch it again but don’t thing Ingram could do much against Solder either.
Yes they beat Lamar as a rookie the week before, would not have beat them any year since.

[Velo]

With the Fields trade to Pitt, the 2021 QB draft class has bombed out. Only Trevor Lawrence is with the team that drafted him, and he is not an elite QB. The best QB of the 2022 draft was the last player drafted. The first pick of the 2023 draft is a bust, Anthony Richardson is an unknown, the jury is still out on Will Levis. In the three drafts since the 2020 draft, drafting QBs has been mostly a losing proposition in the first round, with CJ Stroud being the one standout and Trevor Lawrence being OK. So why would anybody think Harbaugh's strategy might be to trade Justin Herbert and take a chance on one of the rookies in this class?

[beachcomber]

Who was in love with QJ? It was a shocker of a pick that no one really loved. Everyone wanted Flowers or Kincaid.

Last year was a fairly weak WR class nothing close to this year. The first WR drafted, JSN to Seattle, would be the 7th or 8th best WR in this draft. This WR draft is very deep, there will be 20+ WRs taken in the top 100 picks.

The top 3 WRs in this class are blue chip studs. Jerimiah has them rated 2, 3, 4 in overall player draft rankings to give an example. ONLY Caleb Williams is rated higher.

The lines of scrimmage are very important obviously, i will give you that. But you still have to draft for value. Alt is a good tackle, but I dont think at the level for his position as the top 3 WRs are for their position. MJH is considered a generational talent. Nabers would be the top WR taken in most drafts. I am far from convinced you can say that about Alt. The overall all draft rankings reflect what i am saying.

Hey if JH2 are set on a tackle I am fine with TRADING DOWN to take someone like Fuaga or Latham at 11 for extra picks who are beastly run blockers and natural tight tackles. But I am far from ok using the #5 pick on Alt, who is not Sewell caliber, without extra picks when this team doesnt have a WR1 and the next Larry Fitzgerald or J'marr Chase caliber receiver is sitting there.

might want to ask Riverwalk how it went posting about his wariness re: Johnston.... he was on an island.... don't recall you or much of anyone else posting their concern re: QJ.... in fact it was the opposite.

and there are a good 20+ receivers who have busted over the last decade, and.... I agree, this bunch looks pretty good, and.... what changes our SB fortunes.... more of the same or build our Lines ??

and btw.... did you notice who Jeremiah has slotted to us @5.... ??

will also add that when Sewell came out, there were plenty of questions around him, and he was no lock that he would go off the board as soon as he did.

there is also no guarantee that any of the top three tackles would be there @11, as personally would draft the tackles 5, 6, 7 based on team needs and value.

conjecture is rampant here and you are entitled to yours, and.... you and the rest of 'em can be as condescending as you wish, and.... (don't know what to tell you).

[beachcomber]

A TE won the last SB. Mahomes and Kelce won the one before that. A rookie WR almost beat the Chiefs, unfortunately he fumbled away a TD.
I get you need a good O line, but it's the playmakers that win games. Mahomes was running for his life at times this year and yet when the chips
were down he relied on his best pass catcher.

We cannot win with the playmakers we currently have. Upgrading the O line definitely a step in the right direction. But by itself it will not win
us a SB. We need guys that can make plays in the clutch. That's what wins games. Ditto goes for the defense.

I'm going to want to see what our roster looks like and what they play like before making any declarations. But this set of playmakers will
not cut it. Running Gus Edwards 35 times up the gut is probably not going to work. He's going to need help both at the RB position and
O line blocking.

pure/rampant conjecture.... and not making any declarations ?? !! you didn't say it just once, you doubled down saying not only does it take playmakers to win, but that we don't have the playmakers to win....

got news for you and some of the others here.... Linemen are playmakers too !!

and of course, not saying it wouldn't be great having one of the three wideouts on board, and.... only query eye have is.... what gets us to the SB.... linemen first or playmakers/pass catchers first ??

and ps. you and the all of us know that Gus ain't gonna be runnin' nothin' 35x/game.... (think he stays well under 20 touches/game myself ?)

[blueman]

Is he the primary suckage guy? Ekeler fumbled and bumbled, QJ dropped passes, our OGs can't fight out of a paper bag much less plastic. The other WRs outside
of Allen couldn't get separation and took them 7 seconds to get open. Our other RBs also sucked. But you want to draft a ROT @5 because Pip sucks? All the grades
I've seen on the guy indicate he's a middle of the road OT. So we certainly can upgrade him. But with the WR position absolutely loaded this year when we don't have
a clear #1, and no real threat at receiving TE but you want a RT first and foremost? Is that about it?

Who cares? Salyer to RT or draft a rookie late. Pip just should not be in the discussion anymore.

[gzubeck]

With the Fields trade to Pitt, the 2021 QB draft class has bombed out. Only Trevor Lawrence is with the team that drafted him, and he is not an elite QB. The best QB of the 2022 draft was the last player drafted. The first pick of the 2023 draft is a bust, Anthony Richardson is an unknown, the jury is still out on Will Levis. In the three drafts since the 2020 draft, drafting QBs has been mostly a losing proposition in the first round, with CJ Stroud being the one standout and Trevor Lawrence being OK. So why would anybody think Harbaugh's strategy might be to trade Justin Herbert and take a chance on one of the rookies in this class?

I'm laughing really...in years past we used to give rookie QBs at least 1-2 seasons to figure it out...now...if you fail to impress in your first two seasons were shipping you out...Herbert kind of ruined the NFL for rookie QBs. He was clearly ahead of the curve and has made it really difficult in comparison. I think the only reason we didn't take fields on was because of his salary but still if we let him walk we could have garnered a solid pick letting him shop the market next season.

[dmac_bolt]

Sure but their excellent defense could not stop KC when the chips were down. How did the Chiefs score the winning TD? Not by running the football. Kelce killed the
49ers. Plus the Ravens were on the cusp of beating the Chiefs when their rookie WR who was tearing it up fumbled in the KC end zone. That was a pass play not a run.

I think we need a good pass game, not opposed to anything you wrote. A good rush game will help the pass game. Those games came down to the end because they both didn’t score enough in reg time. KC’s offense did not do that much, betting on just perfectly timed rush attack that magically always runs out the clock with the last snap is short of a complete strategy. KC’s defense did more overall, thats all I’m saying and the scoreboard and league stats confirm this. We need better defense our we’ll never keep up.

JH knows he has JH. They don’t plan to go to the season with the current WR group. I’m not worried on, now, Mar 17. Trust in JH2 didn’t change based on moves to date. I’m dying to find out their assessment of the current OL - they know they need a good OL, we don’t know what they think player by player yet.

But we will in time. Trust.

[dmac_bolt]

I'm laughing really...in years past we used to give rookie QBs at least 1-2 seasons to figure it out...now...if you fail to impress in your first two seasons were shipping you out...Herbert kind of ruined the NFL for rookie QBs. He was clearly ahead of the curve and has made it really difficult in comparison. I think the only reason we didn't take fields on was because of his salary but still if we let him walk we could have garnered a solid pick letting him shop the market next season.

Yeah maybe, though Fields is going to year 4, not 2 or 3, and has a lot of game tape that is mostly not good. He definitely looked un-ready for NFL so there is a chance he can still develop a bit more. And Wilson is older than the Three Rivers turf and he’s on the backside of that hill and headed down. I really don’t know what PIT is doing, to be honest - two mediocre QBs doesn’t make one franchise QB- it makes a mess. They already had a QB that was basically as good as them, didn’t they?

I don’t think JH2 ever looked at Fields for a second this off season.

[gzubeck]

Yeah maybe, though Fields is going to year 4, not 2 or 3, and has a lot of game tape that is mostly not good. He definitely looked un-ready for NFL so there is a chance he can still develop a bit more. And Wilson is older than the Three Rivers turf and he’s on the backside of that hill and headed down. I really don’t know what PIT is doing, to be honest - two mediocre QBs doesn’t make one franchise QB- it makes a mess. They already had a QB that was basically as good as them, didn’t they?

I don’t think JH2 ever looked at Fields for a second this off season.

I don't think Picket felt comfortable in Pittsburgh and I don't think he was getting a strong supporting cast on offense to help him in any way. My point being we are pushing most of these young guys to the breaking point that the older NFL coaches and organizations never did before. Sink or swim in no time flat so the QB carousel continues around the NFL.

[dmac_bolt]

I don't think Picket felt comfortable in Pittsburgh and I don't think he was getting a strong supporting cast on offense to help him in any way. My point being we are pushing most of these young guys to the breaking point that the older NFL coaches and organizations never did before. Sink or swim in no time flat so the QB carousel continues around the NFL.

They definitely don’t get the 3-5 years to develop they did in older times, you’re right.