B+
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers won the weekend at the trade table. Grade: B+.
by TominFargo ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 0 steals
· 5 reaches
The Chargers spent real capital to be 63 picks early on Luke Lachey, and the board is going to hold them to it. No fireworks, but a solid B+.
They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own. For all the activity, quarterback went untouched, which is hard to explain.
Ali Marpet gives the group a proven body among the projects.
A tidy weekend of work that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
A real head-scratcher, Jonathon Brooks in No. 42 is miles ahead of his ranking. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Luke Lachey at the 44th overall pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
No edge and no loss on Jackson Powers-Johnson in pick 74; it is a wash and a sensible one. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A clean, defensible pick in the 76th pick with a little surplus value in Leonard Taylor III. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Max Melton at slot 110 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
By-the-book stuff, Beau Brade at Round 4, Pick 12 squarely in line with his ranking. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
They liked Ainias Smith enough to skip the value, taking him in pick 149. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Michael Barrett at slot 190 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A minor need, but a need all the same.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Brian Ugwu. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.