B+
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers turned the phones into found money: B+.
by Geegeeo ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 23 picks
· 4 steals
· 9 reaches
The war room fell hard for Taulia Tagovailoa, and it showed at the Round 7 slot: 34 picks ahead of a board that had other ideas. More right than wrong, and a B+ to match.
They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. Sainristil falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch.
The veteran additions, Randy Gregory chief among them, give the class a floor the rookies alone would not.
Nothing here to lose sleep over, and plenty to feel decent about.
Pick-by-Pick
Brian Thomas Jr. in the 33rd pick is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They liked T'Vondre Sweat enough to skip the value, taking him in the 35th overall pick. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A market-rate linebacker, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Junior Colson. It adds depth where they could use a little.
No edge and no loss on Javon Bullard in the Round 2 slot; it is a wash and a sensible one. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Devontez Walker at pick 63 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Sedrick Van Pran in No. 65 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Michael Hall Jr. at pick No. 69 is a conviction pick that outran the value. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Blake Corum in slot 80 is fair value, right on his grade. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A reach for Zak Zinter in Round 3, Pick 27; a little patience would have been rewarded. It fills a real need, too.
A quiet steal in No. 92: Cade Stover for less than the market said. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Kris Abrams-Draine at the 94th pick. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Mike Sainristil at the 96th overall pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A premium they did not need to pay, Maason Smith a notch or two before his time. This was not a hole anyone had circled.
Johnny Wilson at the Round 4 slot jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They took Christian Jones at par in slot 126, which is nothing to complain about. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Roger Rosengarten at pick No. 131 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Tykee Smith at the 140th pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Nothing to complain about; Marist Liufau went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
By-the-book stuff, Tip Reiman at the Round 6 slot squarely in line with his ranking. The roster fit checks out.
A tidy bit of business in the 219th overall pick, where Jaylan Ford graded well above the range. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
They paid sticker price for Cedric Johnson in Round 6, Pick 45, and that is fine. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A conviction pick on Michael Barrett at pick 225 that the board grades a round light. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Value said wait; Taulia Tagovailoa in No. 253 says they were not listening. A need, and now a little less of one.