2024 Chargers Draft Superthread - Prospect Discussion - Draft Has Started

[sonorajim]

And if it's Bowers... so be it. He will obviously help the passing offense.

The current offense (even with Stick @QB and no KA, MW etc.) is the 10th rated team in passing yards per game.
The current defense is the 30th rated team in passing yards given up per game.

Last year (even w/o Keenan for half the year) the LAC were 3rd in offensive passing yards per game.
So where is our greatest need? How do you fix that to make your overall team better?
Harbaugh would be a nice start. @Michigan, it's the defense that makes that team a contender. He had a really good defense @SF too.

No argument against D We need all. O , D and STs. I'd argue to feature O and Herbert.
We're 2023 season #21 scoring offense, #26 run O, #13 pass O. 2023 Season #25 scoring defense,#30 pass D, #16 run D.
We're very unlikely to be #1 O and #1 D in '24.
Top 5 O, @ #15 D may be doable and would be my goal. Yards are nice but PPG and Ws are inseperable.
Early 1st rd, #6 is WR, OL, TE . Herbert needs improved blocking and receivers or we're wasting our time with him..

[Boltnut]

Defense is an easy fix. Just get 2 legit CBs and one legit LB. That would improve the D to the tune of around 65%. Without the pass D failures and
Staley our defense would have been just fine.

Offense is very different. We have no RB, no TE and other than Allen no WRs. The O line needs fixing. Without getting Herbert some help he's not
going to be able to carry the offense.

I think with a franchise talented QB like Herbert you fix that offense first and foremost. That won't win SBs but it will make us legit PO contender.
Then work on the D.

Don't know how deep this draft is or how many blue chippers there are. But if we land in the 4, 5, or 6th spot we can get a king's ransom worth of
picks by trading down. Landing Harbaugh would instantly make the D better by doing very little. Unfortunately on offense lots of missing pieces.

And how do you get 2 legit CB's...? Are you sure the 2nd round CB's are legit this draft...? Right now, we have one 2nd round CB on the roster (ASJ). I like ASJ... I really do. But he's not a #1CB. After that, we have Leonard and Ja'Sir... Even if we had cap money, legit CB's aren't available in free agency. They cost too much (see JCJ). I don't trust the 2nd/3rd round CB's this year. Terrion Arnold looked pedestrian yesterday.

What if we don't land the Magical Harbaugh...? Do we really believe Harbaugh would turn the slop we currently have in the secondary into gold...? That's a lot of Hopium!!!

[electricgold]

And how do you get 2 legit CB's...? Are you sure the 2nd round CB's are legit this draft...? Right now, we have one 2nd round CB on the roster (ASJ). I like ASJ... I really do. But he's not a #1CB. After that, we have Leonard and Ja'Sir... Even if we had cap money, legit CB's aren't available in free agency. They cost too much (see JCJ). I don't trust the 2nd/3rd round CB's this year. Terrion Arnold looked pedestrian yesterday.

What if we don't land the Magical Harbaugh...? Do we really believe Harbaugh would turn the slop we currently have in the secondary into gold...? That's a lot of Hopium!!!

You get Jim Harbaugh first and foremost and he sets the culture day 1 and it's just a matter of bringing in players that he feels like fits with what he's building and he will cut players that don't have what it takes. TJ Tampa seems like a nice CB that could be drafted a bit later after round 1 & 2! 6'2 4.4 speed!

[wu-dai clan]

[Boltnut]

No argument against D We need all. O , D and STs. I'd argue to feature O and Herbert.
We're 2023 season #21 scoring offense, #26 run O, #13 pass O. 2023 Season #25 scoring defense,#30 pass D, #16 run D.
We're very unlikely to be #1 O and #1 D in '24.
Top 5 O, @ #15 D may be doable and would be my goal. Yards are nice but PPG and Ws are inseperable.
Early 1st rd, #6 is WR, OL, TE . Herbert needs improved blocking and receivers or we're wasting our time with him..

The #26 run offense and #30 pass defense are the biggest concerns for me.

Other than Pipkins, the OL seems to have the required talent. Maybe it's the scheme? Maybe it's the coaching? Maybe it's the RB's?
The injury to Linsley was a big blow to the OL. Center is a priority. 2nd round draft pick or a quality (pricey) free agent.
@RT it seems the Chargers have made their bed (assume that upper management signed off on Pipkins re-sign).
For the record, I was one of the few that were focussing on RT (drafting) before Pipkins was re-signed. I didn't want him.
But here we are... Newly re-signed RT and a 1st round WR selection last year.
I find it hard to believe that upper management is already giving up on those two players.
If Herbert can't get it done with (KA/MW), Joshua Palmer, Quentin Johnson, Derius Davis (who has been completely under-used), and a later round draft pick... then maybe we have bigger problems than WR, OT, and TE....

#30 passing defense is glaring us all in the face. It was a problem 2 years ago when I was banging the table for Trent McDuffie. Then we signed JCJ and everyone forgot about the secondary. Well, I didn't. I knew Vato has been up and down his whole career. I knew JCJ's patellar was an issue (and even suspected that the scheme fit was all wrong). I kept banging the table for CB last draft (Joey Porter Jr. please).... And now we are trying to convince ourselves that "culture change" will convert Ja'Sir and Leonard from lumps of coal to diamonds... or that more mid/late round graded CB's will suffice. It won't. We know this to be true. TT knew it. Even Staley knew it. Please, let's make this happen already.

We had a top-5 offense not too long ago. We've had them in the past, too. They're nice to have... they're fun to watch. They just don't get you far if you can't defend against the pass. Go look at Harbaugh's defenses he had in SF. They were loaded with talent. Go look at Harbaugh's defenses at Michigan... ditto! Coaching matters... but so does talent.

[Boltnut]

Why does every highlight clip of Brock Bowers start off with nothing but green in the frame...? Like Kelce, is this a "I forgot to cover him issue"...? Is this a scheming thing... or a TE that runs a sub-4.27 thing...? I don't see particularly sharp cuts... or sneaky speed... If we get one more knucklehead OC, will Brock Bowers still be a save-the-ship kind of player...?

[SAY OW 55]

Bowers declared.

[DerwinBosa]

The #26 run offense and #30 pass defense are the biggest concerns for me.

Other than Pipkins, the OL seems to have the required talent. Maybe it's the scheme? Maybe it's the coaching? Maybe it's the RB's?
The injury to Linsley was a big blow to the OL. Center is a priority. 2nd round draft pick or a quality (pricey) free agent.
@RT it seems the Chargers have made their bed (assume that upper management signed off on Pipkins re-sign).
For the record, I was one of the few that were focussing on RT (drafting) before Pipkins was re-signed. I didn't want him.
But here we are... Newly re-signed RT and a 1st round WR selection last year.
I find it hard to believe that upper management is already giving up on those two players.
If Herbert can't get it done with (KA/MW), Joshua Palmer, Quentin Johnson, Derius Davis (who has been completely under-used), and a later round draft pick... then maybe we have bigger problems than WR, OT, and TE....

#30 passing defense is glaring us all in the face. It was a problem 2 years ago when I was banging the table for Trent McDuffie. Then we signed JCJ and everyone forgot about the secondary. Well, I didn't. I knew Vato has been up and down his whole career. I knew JCJ's patellar was an issue (and even suspected that the scheme fit was all wrong). I kept banging the table for CB last draft (Joey Porter Jr. please).... And now we are trying to convince ourselves that "culture change" will convert Ja'Sir and Leonard from lumps of coal to diamonds... or that more mid/late round graded CB's will suffice. It won't. We know this to be true. TT knew it. Even Staley knew it. Please, let's make this happen already.

We had a top-5 offense not too long ago. We've had them in the past, too. They're nice to have... they're fun to watch. They just don't get you far if you can't defend against the pass. Go look at Harbaugh's defenses he had in SF. They were loaded with talent. Go look at Harbaugh's defenses at Michigan... ditto! Coaching matters... but so does talent.

With all of the elite and up-and-coming passing games in the AFC (Kansas City, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Miami, Houston, and perhaps Jacksonville), as well as Baltimore improving in the air to complement its dominant ground game, there's no good reason to say the defense isn't a priority to build up. I would love to see us build a defense that's similar to the Giants' dominant fronts that manhandled Brady in two Super Bowls--or the 2013 Seahawks' Legion of Boom that destroyed the highest-scoring offense in NFL history in the Super Bowl. (I would also mention the 2015 Broncos, but I hated that team. LOL.). It's obviously not easy to do, but we have a few pieces in place already.

I have no interest in the idea of outdueling the Chiefs and the rest in shootouts. I want to scare the shit out of all of them with our offensive line and defense.

[Boltnut]

With all of the elite and up-and-coming passing games in the AFC (Kansas City, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Miami, Houston, and perhaps Jacksonville), as well as Baltimore improving in the air to complement its dominant ground game, there's no good reason to say the defense isn't a priority to build up. I would love to see us build a defense that's similar to the Giants' dominant fronts that manhandled Brady in two Super Bowls--or the 2013 Seahawks' Legion of Boom that destroyed the highest-scoring offense in NFL history in the Super Bowl. (I would also mention the 2015 Broncos, but I hated that team. LOL.). It's obviously not easy to do, but we have a few pieces in place already.

I have no interest in the idea of outdueling the Chiefs and the rest in shootouts. I want to scare the shit out of all of them with our offensive line and defense.

Me too! Why not...? It's what they do to us every year.
Take on the attitude of the Ravens and the Niners. Those are the #1 seeds... and probably both end up in the Super Bowl.

[dmac_bolt]

I suspect it came from a 40-yard dash in high school. Saban threw that in the trash, too. He was the #1 CB out of high school... Saban took him. Nick Saban knows a thing-or-two about secondary players...

If you don't believe me... don't believe Saban... ask Harbaugh why he didn't throw at Kool-Aid. Then watch him pick Kool-Aid with the #6 pick.

I know why people are discounting Kool-Aid here @TPB... they like their own guy (Bowers).
I like Bowers, too... what's not to like...? But will he make the whole team better? IMO, not until the OL gets fixed. IMO, it won't matter how many points you score if you can't stop the other team from scoring. Look at the Eagles right now. 49ers hung 42 on them. Dallas followed up with 33. Even the God-forsaken Giants scored 25 points! Santa showed up a week late and let the Cards deliver a lump of coal on New Year's Eve... and our pass defense is worse than theirs!

It’s the only number out there on the internet for him. I agree we need to see what he can run but since when is a CB rated a top 5 pick and nobody in the world can even figure out how fast he runs?

If he’s a 4.4 or less - great. If he’s really the 4.54 that is posted on the web, I’m starting to worry about the jump from college to pros and need to analyze it a lot closer. I expect he’s probably faster than 4.54, but I need to see it.

As to what helps the defense most - if our roster plan is to dump Joey … I wonder if an elite edge player will have greater impact? A great pass rush makes all DBs better, one great CB won’t save a defense that can’t pressure the QB. Not in the NFL.

[Boltnut]

It’s the only number out there on the internet for him. I agree we need to see what he can run but since when is a CB rated a top 5 pick and nobody in the world can even figure out how fast he runs?

If he’s a 4.4 or less - great. If he’s really the 4.54 that is posted on the web, I’m starting to worry about the jump from college to pros and need to analyze it a lot closer. I expect he’s probably faster than 4.54, but I need to see it.

As to what helps the defense most - if our roster plan is to dump Joey … I wonder if an elite edge player will have greater impact? A great pass rush makes all DBs better, one great CB won’t save a defense that can’t pressure the QB. Not in the NFL.

I would be very surprised if he ran over 4.50
He looks fast on the field... that matters.
The best CB's are running between 4.41 and 4.48. If he falls in that range... there is no speed issue.

We had plenty of pass rush this year... top-5 in sacks IIRC. We still sucked covering anyone. 30th in the NFL is terrible.

[Riverwalk]

Get Harbaugh and let him make the pick.

He doesn’t need our advice like Telesco did.