A-
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers worked the phones like thieves and earned a A-.
by timroot1966 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 4 steals
· 9 reaches
Nobody else had Isaac Guerendo anywhere near the 185th pick. The Chargers did, by 90 spots, and that gap is the whole story. Add it all up and it grades out a clean A-.
However the rest shakes out, Wallace at that price is a win they earned. Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck.
The quarterback hole is the one line item this class does not answer. The roster is better shaped than it was, with edge rusher chief among the fixes.
Bottom line, with Troy Franklin leading the way, this is a class that should pay off fast and rarely be regretted.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 25th pick they get a No. 1 receiver at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Quinyon Mitchell at No. 37 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the cornerback. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Trey Benson at pick No. 60 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They read the board right and Kingsley Suamataia was the payoff at the Round 3 slot. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A tidy bit of business in slot 83, where Junior Colson graded well above the range. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
McKinnley Jackson at the 88th overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Jaheim Bell well ahead of where he belonged. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Drake Nugent in the 136th pick is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Keith Randolph Jr. at No. 139 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They reached a country mile for Trey Knox at the Round 5 slot, and the board is aghast. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They reached into another round for AJ Barner, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It fills a real need, too.
Braelon Allen at pick No. 183 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Isaac Guerendo at pick 185 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A need, and now a little less of one.
A big swing on J.J. Weaver at the 223rd overall pick, well ahead of any board in the building. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They barely believed it either: Josh Wallace still on the board at the 252nd overall pick. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A reach on Anthony Gould in No. 256; the board had better options right there. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.