San Diego Chargers, the NFL Draft, and Manti Te'o

I know that the Spurs are playing the Lakers in the first round of the NFL Playoffs, but up 3-0 and with a Lakers player seemingly going down to injury every game there isn't much to talk about on that subject.

I could talk about the Angels, but that's just too depressing right now.

So it's the NFL draft this week and in the first round the Chargers (11th pick) filled a big need at offensive tackle with D.J. Fluker who was part of the Alabama's national championship o-line.  The 3 tackles that were rated ahead of him by NFL.com went 1-2-4 (the first time ever OTs went 1-2 in an NFL draft or three of the first four).  As Mike Maylock said on the NFL Channel broadcast, the Chargers didn't have a legit starting OT on their roster before drafting Fluker...so this was big for SD.

I wasn't so thrilled with the selection of Manti Te'o in the 2nd round...and no it's not because of the Catfishing incident or the bad showing at the combine.  Personally, I think combine performances are overrated.  During his college career, Te'o won the Nagurski Award, Lombardi Trophy, the Bednarik Award, the Maxwell Trophy and named the Walter Camp National Player of the Year, so regardless of the combine there's a lot of people out there who think he has skills.  The Catfishing thing has nothing to do with his on field performance and he's considered a high character guy.

So why am I not thrilled?


Despite playing in the 3-4 at Notre Dame, many felt he wouldn't be effective as a 3-4 inside linebacker in the NFL (not considered effective at taking on blocks from o-line) and doesn't have the speed to play outside linebacker.  Most felt he would be most effective in a traditional 4-3 defense (think Chicago Bears with Mike Singletary or more recently Brian Urlacher) where the scheme of the defense has the d-lineman occupying the o-line, freeing up the middle linebacker to make plays.  The Chargers play the 3-4.

Also, the Chargers' big needs were OT (you need two), cornerback, wide receiver, and defensive line.  Luckily, getting Te'o only cost SD their 4th pick (traded to the Cardinals to move up from 45 to 38).  Still, looking at the players taken just after the Chargers took Te'o (Jets took QB Geno Smith next) and you see Florida St. DE Cornellius Carradine, USC WR Robert Woods, Florida St. OT Menelik Watson, and Mississippi St. CB Johnthan Banks.

In an interview with new Charger GM Tom Telesco on Chargers.com, Telesco said that Te'o "...would be an excellent fit for our 3-4 and what we wanted to do with our linebackers..."  I hope he's right.

I think the Chargers got good value with California WR Keenan Allen (projected as a #1 WR prospect on NFL.com) with their 3rd round pick (76th).  Allen (6'2", 206 lbs.) played both the slot and outside WR.  He also returned kicks in college.

It was good to see that the Chargers retained WR Danario Alexander earlier in the week (he was the Chargers leading WR this past season), but the Chargers needed more depth at that position considering last years free agent pickups WR Robert Meachem and WR Eddie Royal didn't work out and it's unknown how WR Vincent Brown will come back after breaking his ankle in the preseason last year.


The issue with Allen (and likely the reason he fell to the 3rd round) is that he's recovering from knee and ankle injuries.   Allen himself said that he was 90% healthy, but he also said he expected to be 100% soon. Many considered Allen an early first round pick before the injuries.

With the Chargers 5th round pick (145th)  they fill a need for a corner by taking Cal CB Steve Williams and with the 6th (179th) fill a need at DL selecting Florida International DE Tourek Williams.  Two Williams' in-a-row...and no they are not related.  Interesting that there wasn't a scouting report on Steve Williams on NFL.com, but Mike Mayock on the NFL network was high on his speed.  Tourek will be a project.  He didn't play football until High School, but he had raw talent.  He is projected to be a pass rush specialist, but the hope is that he can learn to be an every down player.

The 7th round pick was used on Southern Utah QB Brad Sorensen.  I'm thinking that the Chargers will try to groom him as a possible QB of the future (Phillip Rivers is 32).  He has NFL QB size (6'4", 229 lbs) and the scouting report says he has a strong arm, but can also throw with touch.  On the down side, he's the typical strong armed QB and tends to rely on that arm too much, giving up unnecessary interceptions.  Also playing at Southern Utah, he hasn't faced any top-level defenses. 

Overall, I thought the Chargers had a good draft, filling all their needs except for a 2nd OT.  I'm not saying all of the picks will make the team (that doesn't happen very often), but,  with the exception of the Manti Te'o selection, I feel that the Chargers got good value for their picks...and I'm hoping Te'o proves me wrong. 


Of course all this is all based on potential and the history of the NFL draft is filled with first round busts (I still cringe when I hear the name Ryan Leaf) and late round Hall of Famers.  With this being the first year of the GM Tom Telesco and Coach Mike McCoy era in San Diego, this draft starts a new chapter in the Chargers' history...I hope it's the start of something good.