B-
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers did the meat-and-potatoes work well: B-.
by SurfsUp ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 3 steals
· 2 reaches
Nobody else had Nick Samac anywhere near the 253rd pick. The Chargers did, by 90 spots, and that gap is the whole story. No fireworks, but a solid B-.
They will regret leaving edge rusher for another day if the season turns on it. Washington at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster.
The roster is better shaped than it was, with interior defensive lineman chief among the fixes. Building through the lines is a philosophy, and they stuck to it.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 5 they get a long-term starter on the line at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
Kamari Lassiter in pick No. 37 is fair value, right on his grade. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Xavier Worthy is a better player than slot 69 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Audric Estime at Round 4, Pick 5 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Malik Washington in the 110th pick is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
The board had James Williams higher than the Round 5 slot, and the linebacker fell to them anyway. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
They took Jordan Jefferson at par in the 181st overall pick, which is nothing to complain about. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Sam Hartman this early at the 225th pick. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Nick Samac in slot 253 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.