Scouting the 2013 draft

So, Fisher, Warmack, Jordan, and Lotulelei would be my "dream cluster" at 11, with Johnson or Mingo next in line.

I meant to add Xavier Rhodes and Kenny Vaccaro to that second cluster of players with Johnson and Mingo. I wouldn't mind seeing either one of those guys in a Chargers uniform either. The difference being neither of them affect the Chargers strength at the LOS like Johnson and Mingo would. Still, both add big time talent to areas of need.

I will say that despite your ranting on his ability to get to the second level, his run blocking is not very good. He lunges way too much, and actually throws his body an inordinate amount of times while trying to block DL which basically takes him out of the play far more often than the defender.

Granted, his technique needs work.  But consider that he played QB, TE, and DE before switching to OT just two short years ago.  Sometimes he does throw his body around... but I'll be damned if he doesn't move his man out of the way or get himself into position to seal his guy off.  Truth is... he allows the ball carrier to get through the hole or seals off the backside the way Mike Goff used to do.  It may not look perfect, but it gets the job done.  He played along a line that was, other than him, not very good... unlike Warmack's situation.  In fact, I think Warmack (although very good) may be the most overrated player that will go in the 1st round.  I think he is late 1st round value.  Warmack had lots of help all around him... Johnson didn't.

I meant to add Xavier Rhodes and Kenny Vaccaro to that second cluster of players with Johnson and Mingo.

IMO, Rhodes (or any of the "top" CB's) are so close in talent that it allows teams to wait on CB.  I would be surprised to see any of the "top" DB's, including Vaccaro, go in the top 15 picks.  Teams in the top 15 could get a CB in the 2nd round of similar talent.  I see 15 DB's that belong to a cluster of similr talent.  I bet there are still some good CB's around when we draft in the 3rd round.

Although I haven't been a proponent until now... now is the time to try Jammer at SS.  It would give us time to see what we have in Brandon Taylor also.  It wouldn't cost us a draft pick, and probably wouldn't cost us too much money.  Plus, he could always serve as CB depth, too.

Can't wait to see Lane Johnson show what I and others already know tomorrow. He is a student of the game a will keep getting better and better.

Personally, if Warmack is there when we pick, and it's between  him and Johnson, I hope we take Warmack. He's considered one of the two or three best players in the draft, and if he's sitting there I think that's who I want. I also get a feeling we're going to go with Gaither this year, at least I think they'll not cut him before the draft. If we did get Fisher, then he may be cut. Telesco is supposed to speak with him in the next couple of weeks and there'll be a decsion then. That tells me they're leaning on keeping him at least long enough to cover their behinds in case we get shut out in the draft.

IMO. The best scenario would be Gaither get his head out of his butt, pick up Jairus Byrd in free agency and draft Warmack. If we get rid of Gaither, pick up Long and draft Warmack. But if we just go draft and no free agents picked up. Then Fisher if he is there if not Johnson. I would not be mad if they took Warmack by any means. He makes a lot of BIG holes for the RB's to waltz through and might be the best blocker of all the OL.

Let me change what I said. I don't trust Gaither at all. Lets just pick up Byrd, draft Johnson 1 and Warford 2. OL will be looking good.

draft Johnson 1 and Warford 2. OL will be looking good.

I like the way you think Boltdacious.  Don't look now Jonsie... but CBS (and alot of other sites) have Lane "reach" Johnson rated #7 overall.  I wouldn't be surprised if Johnson wasn't even there for us @ #11.  Chiefs, Eagles, and Cardinals all need OT's badly... especially if the Chiefs decide not to pursue disgruntled OT Albert.

Many mock drafts now have all 5 of the top OL being selected BEFORE the Chargers even pick. Joeckel or Fisher are a lock at No. 1, and the other in some mocks is going No. 2, and no later than 5. Warmack, Johnson, and Cooper are all of the board as well. There's a lot of factors at play that have caused this to line up to be a very real possibility. Our best hope would be for one or two of the teams drafting before us to sign one of the FA OL, but why would they do that when they know they could get that OL for less than half the cost and use their FA dollars elsewhere to strengthen their teams? Doesn't make sense.

So, what are the Chargers to do at 11 if ALL the OL are off the board? I have a suggestion. One I normally wouldn't make. Actually two. One is to trade up with Jacksonville and take whomever doesn't get picked No. 1. That would cost us our 2nd probably, and maybe even a 5th or 6th or so. But I don't want to give up any draft picks in a draft that's not spectacular, but very deep.

So, I'm going against my own general rule of thumb here and trading down to get a few more picks ourselves...IF we can get a trade partner. Trading down is not something I usually believe in, but in this case I'd have to say it could pay off in spades. I'd target trading down to around the 21st (my preference if I could make it happen) to the 24th spot. It is a gamble, but I think our guy could still be there, and the "guy" I'm interested in drafting with our 21st to 24th pick would be OLT Menelik Watson from Florida State. I really like this guy, and I've seen him play quite a bit living down here in Florida. He's not as polished right now as the top 3 OLTs, but ceiling-wise, he's right there.

My ideal trading partner is the Bengals. They have two 2nds, their own, and the Raiders. It's that Raiders 2nd (the 5th pick in the 2nd round) that I want from them, and hopefully a 4th or 5th as a kicker. That would give us some flexibility to make other moves as well depending on the situation, as well as with who we select. That might open the doors to comfortably drafting a WR in the 2nd that we could use, or even a RB. Just a thought, but I honestly love this kid Watson and believe he'll become one of the better OLTs in the NFL within 3 years, if not sooner.

I don't feel that trading up is something is something this team could afford to do. Trading back and picking up some extra picks makes more sense. Another team that might want to trade up is the Rams they have two first round picks along with their second. The Fins pick at 12 and both teams need WRs with the scenario that was put out about all 5 lineman taken before 11 that would leave the best wr available. It would be nice to send meachum along in the trade to the rams as I feel he is too short for Philip Rivers to throw the ball to him. I like Watson also but I feel his poor times in some of the drills will keep him in the second to third round. I think DJ fluker should be available at 22 which is the rams second first rounder and we could still pick up Watson with either of the second rounders that we would have. Another possible trade partner is the 49ers they have 14 picks in the draft not including what they will reportedly get for Alex Smith. The 49ers don't have too many holes and really should be looking at trading some of their picks this year for future picks.

So if the Chiefs are slated to take a Left Tackle at this point, does that mean they aren't planning to resign Albert?

I am beginning to wonder if the Chiefs are considering a DT with the first pick now that they have franchised Albert. Before Lotulelei tested for a heart condition, I thought he was a top 5 player. The Chiefs need help along their D-line @ NT and DE. I wonder if Lotulelei or Sharif Floyd might be their target...? Some have reported that Joeckel will be drafted anyway and Albert will be moved to OG. IMO, that is a lot to pay a guy who you plan on playing at OG. I am sure that the Chiefs would love to trade out of the #1 position... But the price is very high to trade into that position, and the draft is deep in a number of positions. Sacrificing picks this draft is not wise. If the Chiefs don't pick Joekel, then one of the top 3 OT's should fall to us @ #11.

I am beginning to wonder if the Chiefs are considering a DT with the first pick now that they have franchised Albert. Before Lotulelei tested for a heart condition, I thought he was a top 5 player. The Chiefs need help along their D-line @ NT and DE. I wonder if Lotulelei or Sharif Floyd might be their target...?

Hey, LO, hope you and your family are doing well.

This is the $64,000. question. I think a lot has to do with Albert being open to moving to OG or not. He still has a lot of leverage even though he was tagged. If he's not inclined to move to OG, the Chiefs still have until July to pull the tag. If they can't get him to agree to move to OG, they may draft one of the OTs and then try to trade Albert to a team with OT needs, but weren't able to draft one. If they don't pull the tag designation before July, and they do draft an OT and try and force Albert to move, he can simply not sign his tender until the day before the season starts, and they'd be sitting there with someone they penciled in as their starting OG who didn't practice or play at all in the OTAs, training camp, or a preseason game. He did play some OG in college, but that was a while ago now, and not with the current members of this team, so they'd be taking a big chance if they still plan to draft an OT.

I have heard they are very interested in trading down. As I understand, their target is most likely Milliner to play across from Flowers.

Some Pro Day news I thought some of you might find useful...

Auburn

<small>RB Onterrio McCalebb put on another athletic performance at the Tigers pro day as he was clocked in the 4.3 range for the 40, while posting a 37-inch vertical. For the record, McCalebb's 40 time simply confirmed that he is one of the fastest players in this yar's draft after he was timed in 4.34 at the combine, while his vertical was up three inches from Indy. Pro teams, though, aren't sold on McCalebb's future as an NFL RB as he weighs under 170 pounds so he was asked to workout as both a receiver and as a corner.

Same story for DE Corey Lemonier who basically stood on his solid combine workout, but did participate in some OLB drills to show teams that he could play the postion in a 3-4 scheme. The numbers weren't necessarily all that graet for the rest of the Tigers that worked out in front of reps from 23 NFL teams.

TE Phillip Lutzenkirchen, who still doesn't look 100% after undergoing hip surgery, for example, was hoping to improve on his disappointing 40 time of 4.95 from the combine but was actually slightly slower. Meanwhile, WR Emory Blake, for example, ran the 40 in over 4.65 seconds, but did have a 36.5 vertical while posting a good time of 6.96 seconds in the three-cone drill. At the same time, fellow WR Travante Stallworth ran the 40 in the 4.55 range for the 40, while posting a time of 6.90 seconds in the three-cone drill time; he also had a 35-5" vertical while registering 13 reps in the bench press. Safety T’Sharvan Bell also had decent shuttle times of 6.93 in the three-cone drill and 4.10 in the short shuttle, but his 40 time close to 4.7 once adjusted. LB Jonathan Evans ran his 40 in an adjusted time between 4.75-4.80, while posting 14 reps in the bench press, a 30” vertical, and a three-cone time of 7.29. LB Daren Bates, who also got some work with the DBs had unofficial results of around 4.6 seconds on the 40, 15 reps in the bench press, a 33.5” vertical jump, and 7.12 seconds in the three-cone drill.</small>

Youngstown State

<small>As many as a dozen scouts were at the YSU workout where star OG Lamar Mady stood on his solid combine numbers and just did positional drills. Mady is likely the Penguins only draft prospect, but TE Will Shaw, C Mike Pratt and DT Aronde Stanton could get some free agent props. Shaw (6-2, 245), who led the team in receiving last fall, ran the 40 in the 4.8 range, while posting 24 reps in the bench press, along with a solid 34.5" vertical and times of 4.32 in the short shuttle and 6.89 in the 3-cone drill. Pratt (6-2, 295) ran the 40 in the 5.45 range with 23 reps in the BP, while Stanton also had 23 reps in the BP and a 34-5' vertical, but had to skip the running drills after tweaking a hamstring on his first 40 run.</small>

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

<small>Over a dozen NFL teams were represented (including two from the Chargers) at the APB pro day with most in attenance to see OT Terron Armstead, one of the fastest risers in this year's draft class after his outstanding week at the combine. Meanwhile, DE Brandon Thurmond, who had 17.5 sacks in 2012, the most at any level of NCAA football, but still wasn't invited to the combine, reportedly ran in the mid-4.7 range for the 40-yard dash, had a 32 inch vertical, a 8-5 inch broad jump and did 22 repetitions on the bench press; Thurmond measured in at 6-1, 255, while MLB Bill Ross, who had 127 tackles this past season measured in at 6-0, 240. </small>

Alabama-Birmingham

<small>Only 5 teams (and 2 of those were late arriving) were at the Alabama-Birmingham pro day. In the end, they didn't miss much as MLB Marvin Burdette, the Blazers only legit pro prospect , pulled up lame in his first 40 attempt with a strained quad. Burdette, who had over 400 career tackles and played in a couple of preliminary all-star games, hopes to conduct a private workout sometime prior to the draft.</small>

Minnesota

<small>A Bakers dozen NFL teams were on hand for the Minnesota pro day where former Gophers QB MarQueis Gray also worked out as a WR and TE; Gray who ran a somewhat disappointing 4.73 40 at the combine rally didn't imrove much on that time if at all as he reportedly continues to recover from a high-ankle sprain he suffered last season. The player at the Minnesota pro day though who had pro scouts scrambling to find some tape was Northern Iowa WR Terrell Sinkfield, who was never that productive at NIU, but turned in arguably the most athletic performance of the pre-draft process when he posted a 40.5 inch vertical and a 11-5 broad jump before running a sub-4.3 40 that at least one team reportedly had under 4.2 hand-timed. </small>

UTEP

<small>A half dozen NFL teams attended the UTEP workout where OT James Nelson impressed with his size - he measured in at 6-6.5, 321 with 36.5 inch arms - but wasn't very athletic at all as he only ran the 40 in sun-dial time of 5.77 seconds while posting just 18 reps in the bench press.</small>

Purdue

<small>The Boilermakers kicked off the pro day circuit with an on-campus workout atended by as many as 18 NFL teams. The number likely would have been considerably higher had DT Kawann Short, a potential late first or early second pick this coming April, didn’t participate as he is still rehabbing from a hamstring injury suffered during a pre-combine training session, For the record, Short will have a private workout later this month. Among former Boilermakers who were able to partcipate, QB Robert Marve who tore an ACL early last season, reportedly ran well posting a 40-time in the 4.7 range. Meanwhile, RB Akeem Shavers at least sent pro teams back to the Purdue game tape as he put on an athletic show running the 40 in the mid-4.4 range and posting a 39" vertical and a 10-10 broad jump, while registering 19 reps in the bench press. Those figures would all have been among the combine leaders at the position, although the 5-10, 205-pound Shavers who ran for just under 900 yards this past season is still more of a free agent type prospect.  There were also reports that CB Josh Johnson improved on his disappointing 4.65 40 time at the comine, but those have nor been confirmed and even if he did it wasn't much below 4.6.</small>

Corey Lemonier and Terron Armstead are guys I like.

Corey Lemonier and Terron Armstead are guys I like.

I like both as well, LO. However, Armstead is likely a 2nd round pick, but may be off the board before we select. Lemonier is, IMO, no more than a 3rd round selection, but I think he'll be over drafted. I'll give you a name for a 3rd round pass rushing OLB who we might get a shot at drafting, and who will have a real chance to be a stud pass rusher in the NFL for a long time...OLB/DE Brandon Jenkins from FL St.

When you look at the best pass rushers in this draft, I don't know if any one of them have as good a first step as this guy. The truth is, I don't believe that a single one of them do. It's just simply amazing. On top of that, he has great hands, although he needs how to use them a bit better, and he's tough against the run as well. He's got an injury concern that has to be cleared up due to a Lisfranc injury in the first game last year, causing him to miss the season. It was a surprise to many that he didn't redshirt, and that almost assuredly cost him being a high No. 1 pick next year. This is one guy that I'd really, really love to see the Chargers find sitting there at a point where they can't pass him up if he's satisfied our medical staff.

I agree on Jenkins. Although we may need to use that 3rd round pick a RB or CB. What do you think about Quanterus Smith? There is a guy that most believe will be around in the 6th round. He also is recovering from injury. If the top 3 OL are not there in the 1st round, then maybe we take a pass rusher in the 1st round. If the Chargers make Ingram an ILB, we may need to take 2 pass rushers in the draft. The FO has its work cut out for them. Re-signing Shaun Phillips looks more and more attractive. Vasquez is important, but a good good OG might be easier to replace via the draft than Phillips. IMO, all of this year's top pass rushers (Mingo, Ansah, Jordan, and Jones) have various questions concerning their abilities/health. Telescope has stated that the draft will be the main way he replaces talent this year.

Jones your missing the one  Lane Johnson  from Oklahoma . He should be top 4 and the Chargers should get one of the top 4. unless they trade down and pick up more draft picks then the should still get one in the top 6.

From Walter Football:

SR - Senior Bowl meeting.
EW - East-West Shrine meeting.
COM - Combine meeting.
INT - Interested.
VINT - Very Interested.
PRO - Pro Day meeting.
PRI - Private Workout.
% - indicates more than one meeting.
# - indicates meeting set up outside of the 2013 Senior Bowl or the 2013 East-West Shrine Game

Chargers have met with...
Kiko Alonso, LB, Oregon (PRO)
Anthony Amos, WR, Middle Tennessee State (EW)
Ezekiel Ansah, DL, BYU (SR%)
Xavier Brewer, CB, Clemson (EW)
Marcus Davis, WR, Virginia Tech (EW)
Andre Ellington, RB, Clemson (SR)
Corey Fuller, WR, Virginia Tech (EW)
Zaviar Gooden, LB, Missouri (SR)
Gerald Hodges, LB, Penn State (EW)
Dustin Hopkins, PK, Florida State (SR)
John Jenkins, DL, Georgia (SR)
Lane Johnson, OT, Oklahoma (COM)
Datone Jones, DL, UCLA (SR)
Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma (SR)
Aaron Mellette, WR, Elon (SR)
Sio Moore, LB, Connecticut (EW)
Randy Richards, OL, Missouri State (PRO)
Mychal Rivera, TE, Tennessee (SR)
Denard Robinson, WR, Michigan (SR)
Matt Scott, QB, Arizona (INT)
Rodney Smith, WR, Florida State (EW)
Larry Warford, OL, Kentucky (SR)
Earl Watford, OL, James Madison (EW)
Kerwynn Williams, RB, Utah State (EW)
Nathan Williams, LB, Ohio State (EW)
Sylvester Williams, DL, North Carolina (SR)
Terrance Williams, WR, Baylor (SR)
Tyler Wilson, QB, Arkansas (SR)

Okay, let's try this again. I made a post a few days ago that the CBS message boards sent to lala land, or where ever they send posts that don't get posted.

First thing I noticed is there are 29 players listed. You're allowed 30, so either one was missed, or the Chargers have...or had one more that didn't get included on that list for one reason or another, or they still have a visit to go. Perhaps they will only bring in 29.

2nd thing I noticed is there are only two possible top 11 players on that list, Ansah and Johnson...both of whom are projected to be off the board by numerous mocks before we select. That tells me two things. One, we wanted to get a good feel/look at these two just in case they're there when we pick...not because we think they'll be there. And two, we didn't tip our hat as to whom we will probably be taking. I like that.

What I did notice about that list is this.

There are three QBs on the list. When was the last time we drafted a QB? It's time we do to see if we can find a developmental guy...even in the 7th round. You never know.

Both LB and CB are heavily featured. I do not believe that's a smoke screen. There's a purpose for them bringing in so many of each, and Lord knows we can use a few of each too. I especially like Sio Moore, although I've looked at him as a 4-3 LB, I believe he'd be a real headhunter at SILB...Spikes old position that I'd really like to see Ingram play. Still, if we drafted him, he's a heck of a player.

I don't know if they didn't like what they saw in the two RBs on that list, but I doubt you see them drafting one of them now after signing Woodhead. Both are similar. I think now, if we draft a RB...and I think we will...it will be a RB who has some size to him.