Official 2015 Draft Discussion

[Maverick]

Melvin Gordon, PLEASE!!!!

[Panamamike]

Gurley just reminds me too much of Herschel Walker. His style is ideal for college ball, but his average acceleration builds speed too slowly. I don't think he will be a special player in the NFL. Too many of the other backs have the acceleration to be better RB.

I disagree with your take on Gurley. Time will tell.

[Screeme]

This is true but not everybody comes back the way they were. AP came back strong from his multiple ligament tears in his knee but Marcus Latimer had to retire. Gurley is said to be doing great so thats good news. Id still pas on a RB in the first but i wouldnt cry foul if they picked Gurley or Gordon.

I don't think its a fair comparison.. The injury that ended Latimers injury was not only his second major knee injury, but the first was more severe than Gurley's.. and the second was devestatingly awful. Again, Gurley had an ACL tear with no further knee damage, Latimers second injury had major knee damage on a knee that had already had an injury worse than Gurley's current one... AND Lattimer had come back from that first fine.

I will say, I am not sold that RB is the best option for our top pick.. but it does have to be one of our top 2. After a lot of thought, I think my favorite draft is:

1> Danny Shelton DT
2> Tevin Coleman or Duke Johnson RB
3> Tre Jackson OG

Though, its a bit of a fantasy scenario- I don't think Shelton or Jackson last to our picks in the 1st/3rd

[Lightningwill_420]

I'm sticking with my draft philosophy: best players available. However, I'm adding a caveat this year: best, most durable, players available. Last year, just about all our draft picks missed time with injury. I hope that was a fluke. But I remember going through our picks' college careers and finding at least some of our picks had been injured even before we picked them. Watt and Verrett had both been injured multiple times in college. I can't remember if there were others. Maybe I can find my old message.

Can't find the message, but I looked up the top three draft picks again.

Verrett: 2010, hamstring injury; 2012, arthroscopic surgery on left knee; 2013, torn meniscus in right knee, torn labrum, shoulder surgery

Attaochu: 2010, groin injury; 2011, high ankle sprain; 2012, chest injury; 2013, finger injury (doesn't sound like much, but forced to miss combine)

Watt: 2013, tore right PCL, tore right MCL, pulled left quad, had surgery to repair torn labrum

Verrett played through most of his college injuries. Attaochu didn't. Watt suffered most of his not long before we drafted him.

All missed time due to injuries their rookie years with us.

[Panamamike]

My thoughts on the draft:

1) we need pass rush and a guy that can step in and play at ROG. I think if we solidify the OG spot, it helps both the running and passing game. I thnk we can get value WR and RB after we solidify the pass rush and OL.

2) the only first round OL players I really like are Collins, Flowers and Irving (slightly high for him but his versatility makes up for it). I Really don't like how Peat plays.
3) i like Donovan Smith at OG at the next level. I like him better than some of the top ranked OGs.
4) if Dupree is on the board, I would take him in the first.....don't think he will be. Nate Orchard would be sweet in the third...like his pass rush ability....needs to get stronger.
5) I think the team sees Careathers as a long term guy at NT. I think they may add to the position in the draft, but later or UDFA as a rotational guy. It all depends on how they see Careathers.
6) LB and WR are two of our most glaring weaknesses in terms of quality and quantity. WR normally take some time, so provided one of the top couple does not fall to us, I think we may get a guy like Lockett or Dorsett in addition to a size speed development guy later like Waller or Mayle later on. DE/OLB is a must, and ILB may also be addressed. ILB comes into play depending on who is there and if they feel we don't need a NT. ILB is very weak in this draft, but the kid in Clemson is a baller, and there are a couple other that could come in and help.....help keep Butler off the field
7) RB. Personally I like Gurley a lot more than Gordon. That being said, I am not a big fan of using a first on RB. I think we need to address our pass rush and OG as our top priorities and we can get a Rb later. We NEED to get Troutman off the field. The solidifying of the interior line will help the running game, and we already have our third down back in Woodhead.


All in all I think the quality of this draft is low at the top end, and a very poor year for LT,TE,and ILB, but there are a lot of 2-4 Rd grade players IMO. I think we should be able to fix some of our most glaring needs, then finish off with some vets after the draft. It should be fun.

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

Chargers' odds to draft Mariota move from +1,500 to +300
Stephen Campbell Apr 24, 2015
The Tennessee Titans, owners of the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, are favored to land Oregon product Marcus Mariota at Sportsbook.ag, but there's been a major jump in odds for one West Coast team.

The shop initially opened the San Diego Chargers' likelihood of selecting Mariota at +1,500, but that's been bet all the way down to +300 as of Friday.

Here's a look at the rest of the book's odds:

Tennessee Titans: +175
San Diego Chargers +300
Philadelphia Eagles +400
Tampa Bay Buccaneers +450
New York Jets +500
Cleveland Browns +800
St. Louis Rams +1,500
Chicago Bears +1,800
Washington Redskins +1,800
Buffalo Bills +3,500
Houston Texans +3,500

[Formula 21]

There's some serious gambling addictions out there if people are betting on the draft.

[Panamamike]

I would bet the Jets and Browns.

[Screeme]

My thoughts on the draft:

1) we need pass rush and a guy that can step in and play at ROG. I think if we solidify the OG spot, it helps both the running and passing game. I thnk we can get value WR and RB after we solidify the pass rush and OL.

5) I think the team sees Careathers as a long term guy at NT. I think they may add to the position in the draft, but later or UDFA as a rotational guy. It all depends on how they see Careathers.
6) LB and WR are two of our most glaring weaknesses in terms of quality and quantity. WR normally take some time, so provided one of the top couple does not fall to us, I think we may get a guy like Lockett or Dorsett in addition to a size speed development guy later like Waller or Mayle later on. DE/OLB is a must, and ILB may also be addressed. ILB comes into play depending on who is there and if they feel we don't need a NT. ILB is very weak in this draft, but the kid in Clemson is a baller, and there are a couple other that could come in and help.....help keep Butler off the field
7) RB. Personally I like Gurley a lot more than Gordon. That being said, I am not a big fan of using a first on RB. I think we need to address our pass rush and OG as our top priorities and we can get a Rb later. We NEED to get Troutman off the field. The solidifying of the interior line will help the running game, and we already have our third down back in Woodhead.

I basically agree with you on needs.. our pass rush has been pretty bad for awhile now. But I have a theory that our lack of NT is a big problem for the rest of the front 7.. if we get better play there, it will effect the overall play. With Ingram and Attaochu.. we need OLB depth, but those guys are going to play the bulk of the minutes.. thats why I like Shelton for our #1. I see Careathers as depth, but he's not THE guy.

I also don't think any of the pass rushers will be available anyway, they usually go pretty fast. The only guy likely to fall is Gregory and I think thats unlikely.

[Panamamike]

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25162003/agents-take-the-risky-business-of-being-a-running-back-draft-prospect

A former agent's take on drafting RBs in the top 10 under today's salary structures. Although we draft 17th and it doesn't apply in that regard, it is an interesting article.

[Panamamike]

Round 1 (17): D.J. Humphries, OT, Florida
Round 2 (48): Eli Harold, OLB, Virginia
Round 3 (83): Michael Bennett, DT, Ohio State
Round 4 (117): David Cobb, RB, Minnesota
Round 5 (153): Quandre Diggs, CB, Texas
Round 6 (192): Shaq Mason, C, Georgia Tech

NFL.com 7 round mock draft results. Although it addresses some of our biggest areas of need, I am rather underwhelmed by the group as a whole.

[SDFan]

I basically agree with you on needs.. our pass rush has been pretty bad for awhile now. But I have a theory that our lack of NT is a big problem for the rest of the front 7.. if we get better play there, it will effect the overall play. With Ingram and Attaochu.. we need OLB depth, but those guys are going to play the bulk of the minutes.. thats why I like Shelton for our #1. I see Careathers as depth, but he's not THE guy.

I also don't think any of the pass rushers will be available anyway, they usually go pretty fast. The only guy likely to fall is Gregory and I think thats unlikely.

I don't see them taking an OLB high in this draft unless it is truly BPA and a useful RB, OL, WR, DB they like is not there when our pick comes up. We will have Ingram and Tourek Williams replacing Freeney and JJ in base defense, with Attachou rotating in to replace Williams or to add more pass rush if they want to move Ingram around. Then you have Law as a fresh legs pass rush specialist. If they do take OLB, they don't see much playing time with those guys in front of them- unless there are injuries. More likely to me is they sign a guy like Keiser (if he's still FA) and take a developmental OLB that can rush some as the 5th guy.

On DL, don't forget about Ricardo Mathews who showed promise last year and we still have Lissemore. I don't get the feeling the team is worried about the NT situation as some posters here. Another position where its likely a BPA pick.