And With The 5th Pick Of The NFL Draft Chargers Select....Discussion

[northerner]

If we draft Bowers what happens to Parham? Parham doesn't fit the Harbaugh mold.

Parham dropped so many easy balls this season, he does not fit anyone's mold. he made QJ look surehanded.

edit: at 6'8" i was super excited about Parham's potential a couple of years ago, but that excitement is over. I sure hope we have better options at TE than him next season (time to move on).

[Chargers8491]

The enthusiasm for Bowers on this forum reminds a little bit of the love Tony Mandarich (before he became a complete bust) and Bo Jackson (a phenomenal athlete) received. I'm not saying Bowers will be either of them at his position. He's clearly regarded as the top tight end prospect in this draft for very good reason. If Harbaugh decides Bowers is the guy to pick at fifth overall or in a trade down, I'll be looking forward to watching him catch passes from Herbert.

I think the "generational talent" talk is over the top, though. Bowers is not a flawless prospect. I watch a lot of Georgia Bulldogs games and came away very impressed with him, but I wonder at times just how good he really is because there were many players who looked great in that system. People on this forum have also thrown around "great blocker" when describing Bowers. He's not. He seems to have the work ethic to improve in that area, and he doesn't suck at it all, but in the handful of times I focused on him blocking at the line of scrimmage I did not see greatness there. He's also not the ideal size for the position. That's not to say I can't be wrong about him not being the "generational talent" so many are claiming him to be. He could end up being as great as Tony Gonzalez, which would be awesome to have and well worth the fifth overall pick. I'm not a professional at evaluating players. Not even close. I just think at this point the idea that we HAVE to draft Bowers if he's available at our pick and can't consider anyone else is outrageous.

There are other players in this draft I'm more interested in because I think they could be just as good or better than Bowers at positions of greater value. That's not a knock on Bowers' ability. There's a reason why Kyle Pitts is the only tight end drafted in the top five in NFL history (I believe that's the case--others can prove me wrong if it's not). While the tight end has proven to be quite valuable for quarterbacks in these playoffs, the position overall will never be considered as important as others--pass-rusher stands out to me in this draft, with three of them who could end up being studs at the next level. Throw in the fact that George Kittle was drafted in the fifth, Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews in the third, Jake Ferguson in the fourth, Darren Waller in the sixth, etc., and it could be argued that drafting a tight end in the top ten is similar to picking a running back that high. Same goes for wide receiver. Recent history has shown you can find many more good-to-great players at those positions later than the first round in the draft.

I agree the "generational talent" is a bit over the top. The reason I am high on Bowers is "I" think that he is a perfect fit for the Chargers and what Harbaugh wants to do on offense and let's face it the Chargers don't have a good TE on the team. The issue with college players is you have no idea how their skill set will translate to the NFL and if they can make the transition from college from college level to the pros. Are there just as good or better than Bowers at positions of greater value? Yea probably but I would argue that in Harbaughs offense a good/great TE is just as valuable than any other position minus the QB of course. Especially, since they don't currently have a good TE on the team. I will add also from what I have read on Bowers is I really like his character and work ethic. I believe he is the type of player that Harbaugh is looking for to change the culture of the team. Of course, this will all get teased out when they do interviews prior to the draft. I think Bowers has a high ceiling and hope he is a Charger but won't lose sleep if he isn't the pick. At the end of the day Hortiz/Harbaugh know better than I do.

[CanadianBoltFan]

Parham dropped so many easy balls this season, he does not fit anyone's mold. he made QJ look surehanded.

edit: at 6'8" i was super excited about Parham's potential a couple of years ago, but that excitement is over. I sure hope we have better options at TE than him next season (time to move on).

agree.

Keeping Parham is not a priority

[northerner]

I agree the "generational talent" is a bit over the top. The reason I am high on Bowers is "I" think that he is a perfect fit for the Chargers and what Harbaugh wants to do on offense. The issue with college players is you have no idea how their skill set will translate to the NFL and if they can make the transition from college from college level to the pros. Are there just as good or better than Bowers at positions of greater value? Yea probably but I would argue that in Harbaughs offense a good/great TE is just as valuable than any other position minus the QB of course. I will add also from what I have read on Bowers is I really like his character and work ethic. I believe he is the type of player that Harbaugh is looking for to change the culture of the team. Of course, this will all get teased out when they do interviews prior to the draft. I think Bowers has a high ceiling and hope he is a Charger but won't lose sleep if he isn't the pick. At the end of the day Hortiz/Harbaugh know better than I do.

talent is great, but talent + driven + high character guy = special.

[Chargers8491]

talent is great, but talent + driven + high character guy = special.

"Special", I think that is a perfect description of Bowers. Does it translate to the NFL? Wont know until he steps onto the field. Worth the #5 pick? I believe so.

[Boltx]

Bowers better be that if you're drafting him fifth overall.

But to answer your question at the beginning of your post, I think Penei Sewell at right tackle has been quite "transformative" for the Lions. I'm not saying Joe Alt is Penei Sewell, nor am I saying Brock Bowers is Travis Kelce, whose 133 yards on nine receptions did nothing for the Chiefs in their embarrassing 31-9 Super Bowl loss to the Buccaneers, when Patrick Mahomes was running for his life the entire game during by far the worst performance of his career--because he had no protection.

We can cherry pick single game examples all we like...I am sure there are plenty of games where Kelce was clearly the difference between winning and losing, as well. Hell, we've been on the other end of many, many of those games.

Again, I am not against Joe Alt at all. I think the question we need to ask ourselves is what do we think the ceiling is for each player, and how impactful do we see that player being for us over the medium-to-long term?

Alt could easily end up being an all-world tackle and helps solidifies the OL for a decade while Bowers maybe ends up as just an average TE. Or vice versa. I guess the other question would be, how much harder will it be to find a good RT vs a good TE depending on who we go with? I think Bowers' blocking ability gets glossed over a bit, and I think for a "luxury pick" like TE, he really does bring a lot more to the team. Both seem like great character guys that Harbaugh would target, so no worries there.

I think we are biased because of what we had with Winslow/Gates, and what we've had to deal with on the other side with Kelce for over a decade now. I'm not going to lose sleep over it - we should be able to get a great prospect regardless.

[Bolt4Knob]

talent is great, but talent + driven + high character guy = special.

Bowers has been my favorite player to watch in college since he was a freshman. So adding him to the Chargers would be great addition

Alt would solidify the OLine
Odunze or Nabers would had an element to the WR room that is needed - even with QJ as he is kind of unknown and they really won't be able to see him work until after the draft - or possibly a week or two before

Chargers cannot go wrong but still today
Bowers or a trade back if OVERwhelmed

[WindsorUK]

TE1 and TE2 definitely need to be replaced.
Happy to have Smartt and Kampenmoyer as TE3/4

[Boltjolt]

Bowers better be that if you're drafting him fifth overall.

But to answer your question at the beginning of your post, I think Penei Sewell at right tackle has been quite "transformative" for the Lions. I'm not saying Joe Alt is Penei Sewell, nor am I saying Brock Bowers is Travis Kelce, whose 133 yards on nine receptions did nothing for the Chiefs in their embarrassing 31-9 Super Bowl loss to the Buccaneers, when Patrick Mahomes was running for his life the entire game during by far the worst performance of his career--because he had no protection.

Anybody we draft at 5 better be #5 worthy. Bosa was #3, has he been worthy? He is good when he is healthy, but he just isnt healthy near enough so id say he hasnt been #3 worthy, but Ekeker has made up for some of those not quite worthy picks.

We talk about value but what is the value? We do not have a TE and if Bowers is THE guy you want, do you take a chance and trade down to 8 or 10 and maybe lose him if another team wants him too and then you lose that value to your team. Or just take him at #5? Do you feel better at #8? Id bet many would because we got an extra pick and i would like that too,..... but potentually losing him is the chance you take and if you lose him but are happy to get that 3rd rounder, which do you feel better about?

Me im feeling better that we got Bowers. We can also trade down in round 2 and get an extra pick or two.

[Bolt4Knob]

TE1 and TE2 definitely need to be replaced.
Happy to have Smartt and Kampenmoyer as TE3/4

I can see Parham being released this spring - not for cap reasons - for fit on the roster reasons

As fro Everett - he runs hard -- but damn, the lack of blocking

You are right need a TE1 and TE2 and one of them needs to be an very good blocker

[BigBad]

Bowers isn’t perfect obviously

[Boltjolt]

Bowers isn’t perfect obviously

Agree. He is 240lbs, but with Ben Herbert around, i like the prospect of him adding strength and some weight. TEs arent normally huge guys. The bigger ones are 250 to 265 in most cases. If Brock can get to 250 with added strength, thats a possitive.