It is the swing that defines the weekend: Javontae Jean-Baptiste in slot 181, a good 36 spots before the room expected him. A D+ that will need time and luck to look better.
They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down. So much rides on Jayden Daniels that the rest of the class almost grades on a curve behind him.
It is not that Solomon is a bad player; it is that the Chargers had louder needs to answer first. The tight end spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
However the rest shakes out, Harden at that price is a win they earned.
Add it up and it is a weekend the front office will hope everyone forgets, tight end very much included.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.1
· Pick 1
· Marvin Harrison Jr.
· WR
· rank 1
In pick 1 they get a difference-maker at receiver at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
R1.5
· Pick 5
· Jayden Daniels
· QB
· rank 7
A market-rate quarterback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jayden Daniels. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
R1.14
· Pick 14
· Jer'Zhan Newton
· DL
· rank 12
They paid sticker price for Jer'Zhan Newton in pick No. 14, and that is fine. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
R2.5
· Pick 37
· Jonathon Brooks
· RB
· rank 45
Jonathon Brooks in Round 2, Pick 5 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
R2.13
· Pick 45
· Chris Braswell
· LB-EDGE
· rank 42
Fair-plus on Chris Braswell, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
R3.5
· Pick 69
· Austin Booker
· DE-EDGE
· rank 64
Nothing to complain about; Austin Booker went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
R3.11
· Pick 75
· Xavier Legette
· WR
· rank 73
No edge and no loss on Xavier Legette in pick 75; it is a wash and a sensible one. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
R4.5
· Pick 105
· Javon Solomon
· OLB-EDGE
· rank 117
They bypassed pressing needs at tight end to take Javon Solomon, an OLB-EDGE that was not the priority.
R4.10
· Pick 110
· Tyler Davis
· DT
· rank 121
They paid a round early for Tyler Davis in pick No. 110, more than the board wanted. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
R4.22
· Pick 122
· Jarvis Brownlee Jr.
· CB
· rank 114
Jarvis Brownlee Jr. slipping to the 122nd pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
R5.4
· Pick 140
· Christian Jones
· OT
· rank 132
Christian Jones is a better player than slot 140 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It fills a real need, too.
R6.6
· Pick 181
· Javontae Jean-Baptiste
· DE-EDGE
· rank 217
A big swing on Javontae Jean-Baptiste at Round 6, Pick 6, well ahead of any board in the building. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
R7.5
· Pick 225
· Edefuan Ulofoshio
· LB
· rank 236
They liked Edefuan Ulofoshio enough to skip the value, taking him in the 225th overall pick. A minor need, but a need all the same.
R7.33
· Pick 253
· Myles Harden
· CB
· rank 209
Myles Harden at No. 253 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
