It was a quiet Friday night for the Chargers after all.
During the opening round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night, the Chargers traded away their second- and third-round picks to move back into the first round and take Oklahoma linebacker Kenneth Murray. On a conference call, general manager Tom Telesco didn’t rule out trading again — perhaps giving away a player — to gain a Day 2 pick. But that never came to fruition and the Chargers went two rounds, and a full day, without making a pick.
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The drought ends Saturday morning, though. The Chargers hold four picks on Day 3, the first of which comes at No. 112, the sixth pick of the fourth round. They also have No. 151 in the fifth round, No. 186 in the sixth round and No. 220 in the seventh round.
There were plenty of surprises Friday, and a number of talented prospects remain available at the Chargers’ positions of need. They could go in several directions with the picks they have.
Let’s go pick by pick and look at some possible targets.
Fourth round, No. 112
Telesco and the Chargers will get back to work early Saturday, and I feel like they could draft at any of five positions at this spot, based on who is still on the board and what they still need: offensive tackle, nose tackle, wide receiver, cornerback and tight end.
There was a moment in the third round when it looked like tackles Lucas Niang (TCU) or Matt Peart (Connecticut) — or both — would fall into the fourth. They would have been intriguing at 112. But Niang went to the Chiefs at 96, and Peart went to the Giants at 99, a compensatory pick. (The Chargers didn’t receive any compensatory picks in this draft.)
Still, there are some solid options remaining. Auburn’s Prince Tega Wanogho is the 73rd-ranked player on the consensus big board of Arif Hasan of The Athletic, and colleague Dane Brugler had him pegged as a third-round talent entering the draft. Brugler referred to Wanogho as an “exceptional space athlete” in his draft guide, which would make him a solid fit for the zone run scheme the Chargers are planning to implement in 2020 under new offensive line coach James Campen. Ben Bartch, out of Division III St. John’s, is another offensive tackle in the top 100 on the consensus board. He seems a little less likely, only because the Chargers already have a small-school project tackle on their roster in Trey Pipkins. Wanogho, meanwhile, was a three-year starter in the SEC.
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Moving on to nose tackle, I think Leki Fotu out of Utah makes a lot of sense at this spot, assuming he doesn’t go in the first five picks of the round. I had the Chargers taking Fotu in a couple of my mock drafts. He’s a pure nose tackle at 330 pounds and reportedly met with the Chargers during the pre-draft process. He would fill a need as the backup to Linval Joseph, who, at 31 years old, will absolutely need a rotational piece to spell him.
There was a run on wide receivers in Rounds 2 and 3, with 10 coming off the board in 74 picks — 11 if you include Antonio Gibson, who is a RB/WR hybrid player. So the Chargers might jump at wide receiver with the 112th pick. They must add speed to their offense, and they could miss out on some of the better prospects if they wait until the fifth round. The three guys I really like: Rhode Island’s Isaiah Coulter, Boise State’s John Hightower and Michigan’s Donovan Peoples-Jones. All of them run sub-4.5 40s. Hightower is the fastest of the three at 4.43. Another name to watch: UCF’s Gabriel Davis. He’s a little slower than the three I mentioned, but he’s ranked higher on Brugler’s board.
The Chargers might be able to get the most value at cornerback with the 112th pick. The best player still available on the consensus board is Virginia’s Bryce Hall. My guess is he’s falling because he wasn’t healthy enough to run the 40 at the combine, and there are concerns over his straight-line speed. But he would be outstanding value.
Hall reminds me a lot of Casey Hayward — not the fastest corner, but he makes up for it with ball skills, anticipation and instincts. Hall was a great high school basketball player. So was Hayward. You could make an argument that Hall would thrive in Gus Bradley’s Cover 3-heavy scheme.
At the same time, I’m still not sure the Chargers are going to take a cornerback at all. A Desmond King trade now seems pretty unlikely. I thought they could deal him to move back into the third round, but that didn’t happen. At this stage, they’re better off keeping him on the roster. Between Chris Harris, King, Hayward, Michael Davis, Brandon Facyson and even Nasir Adderley, the Chargers have more at that position than the others I’ve mentioned above.
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But if they do go corner here, watch out for Hall, and also Louisiana Tech’s Amik Robertson, the 92nd-ranked player on the consensus board. He ran a 4.45 at his pro day, and that speed aligns more with what the Chargers are looking for in an outside corner.
I think the Chargers will wait on a tight end, but two guys they could target at 112: Florida Atlantic’s Harrison Bryant and Washington’s Hunter Bryant.
Fifth round, No. 151
It’s obviously harder to predict what the Chargers will do here compared to No. 112 because so much will depend on what they do with that fourth-round pick.
The offensive tackle crop falls off pretty severely after Bartch. I don’t think LSU’s Saahdiq Charles will even be an option for the Chargers given what Brugler called “a history of unreliable behavior, which led to a six-game suspension during the 2019 season for a violation of team rules.” In my mind, the Chargers should either draft a tackle at 112 or skip the position altogether. In that scenario, they could roll with what they have between Pipkins, Sam Tevi and Forrest Lamp, or look to upgrade via trade (Trent Williams) or free agency (Jason Peters).
Coulter and Hightower are more likely to be there in the fifth round than Peoples-Jones and Davis. But the way the first three rounds went, they all might be gone by this point. Virginia’s Joe Reed (4.47) and Syracuse’s Trishton Jackson (4.50) have the speed the Chargers are looking for. The most interesting of the late-round receivers, to me, is Quez Watkins out of Southern Miss. He ran a 4.35 at the combine. Only Alabama’s Henry Ruggs was faster.
If the Chargers wait until the fifth round to take their wide receiver, they should pray that Coulter and/or Hightower make it there. If they take the wide receiver in the fourth round, then I think they should look for a nose tackle here — LSU’s Rashard Lawrence, Ole Miss’ Benito Jones or Texas Tech’s Broderick Washington. If not, then a tight end — Stanford’s Colby Parkinson, Purdue’s Brycen Hopkins, LSU’s Thaddeus Moss or Vanderbilt’s Jared Pinkney. Or one of the Bryants, if they fall, but that’s highly unlikely.
Perhaps a running back, too. I like James Robinson out of Illinois State.
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Sixth round, No. 186
This is where I would prefer to start looking for a running back. Michael Warren II out of Cincinnati makes so much sense here. TCU’s Sewo Olonilua is another name to watch. Both guys are big backs, and that’s exactly what the Chargers are seeking.
Seventh round, No. 220
Seventh-round picks rarely make an impact, so the Chargers could take a flier here. I think an edge rusher could be an option, depending on who’s available. Two rather inexperienced edge rushers who are freak athletes: Illinois’ Olowole Betiku Jr. and Kansas’ Azur Kamara. Both guys were born in Africa before moving to the United States. Could be interesting project picks for the Chargers, who are looking for some depth at weak-side defensive end, with Melvin Ingram on the last year of his deal.
(Top photo of Donovan Peoples-Jones: Steven King / Icon Sportswire)
