Tag: draft

Examining Chargers’ haul in Draft Wire’s latest three-round mock draft

The Chargers snag a quarterback, tackle and linebacker in Draft Wire’s latest three-round projections.

The Los Angeles Chargers are finalizing their big board as the 2020 NFL Draft is now less than three weeks away.

As the draft approaches, mock drafts continue to be pumped out as the world proceeds to predict how they believe the draft will shape up.

Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling is among the latest to take a crack at it. Here are the results from his three-round mock draft:

Round 1, No. 6, Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama

The Chargers were runner ups in the Tom Brady sweepstakes, and they have said that they have no desire to sign Cam Newton or Jameis Winston at the moment.

That means Tyrod Taylor is expected to start under center this upcoming season. However, he only has one more year remaining on his contract and the team must give fans a glimpse of the future at the quarterback position.

Tagovailoa has many concerned with his previous injury history, but all signs are pointing to him being healthy by the time the upcoming season begins. But he would be in the perfect situation where he wouldn’t have to start in Year 1, giving him time to completely ensure he is at full health before taking the reins.

Aside from the durability concerns, Tagovailoa is the type of quarterback that Chargers are looking for, bringing a rare skillset to the table as a passer. He has the characteristics and leadership ability they would covet. His presence would also aide in bringing fans into their brand new stadium.

Round 2, No. 37, Ezra Cleveland, OT, Boise State

The Chargers shored up the right tackle position with the signing of Bryan Bulaga, but the left tackle spot remains a mystery. Trey Pipkins could be slated as the starter, but it wouldn’t be surprising if they took advantage of this deep tackle class for added competition.

Cleveland went into the pre-draft process as a projected third-round selection, but his incredible showing at the Combine boosted his stock as a likely top-40 selection.

Cleveland’s athleticism and loose movement skills allow him to stymie different types of rushers off the edge in pass protection, and his speed would be much-needed in space as the Chargers will now look to run the ball more in their new scheme.

Round 3, No. 71, Jordyn Brooks, LB, Texas Tech

From my latest takeaways, I mentioned how it wouldn’t be surprising if the linebacker position was addressed in the first two days of the draft. That’s the direction they go in Round 3 with the selection of Brooks.

Brooks, the 6-foot and 240 pounder is a quick-twitch athlete who has the desired play speed, range and toughness against both the pass and the run game.

For the Chargers, Brooks projects best as a Mike linebacker while also serving as a key contributor on special teams. In Year 1, he has the traits to see the field early on.

In a recent conversation with The …

In a recent conversation with The Athletic, general manager Tommy Sheppard detailed some of the organization’s preferences for the NBA Draft and free agency. “We’re not hiding any state secrets,” he said when asked what types of players the Wizards might prioritize adding after the season. “We’re gonna improve defensively, and a lot of that is by repetition and continuity. We certainly look inside. Maybe we can get some more physicality there and get some more help out on the wings. There’s a lot of need that comes, but sometimes those needs get met by just staying patient (with your) players.”

Sheppard hopes progression will …

Sheppard hopes progression will continue into next year and trusts that a group entering training camp merely knowing one another has a better chance to force stops. “The continuity — Coach will tell you, it’s hard to roll out a new lineup every night and think you’re gonna be able to get a consistent effort defensively,” Sheppard said. “Offensively, we’ve always been able to score. It’s almost interchangeable. … But defensively, it’s hard to keep rolling in new guys all the time.”

Adrian Wojnarowski: We probably don’t …

Adrian Wojnarowski: We probably don’t have a draft or free agency till September until the season’s over. But what if you wait on this and all of a sudden we get to June 1 or June 5 or June 10 and there’s an environment where the season can’t resume where they say, we’re going to have to, we’re not close enough to being able to return to work in the NBA. We’re out of time. We’ve got to look at canceling the season. Well, now all of a sudden, you’ve got the draft on June 25, you got free agency on June 30. Those very well probably then just stay intact. And so you can’t you don’t want to start your search then. So I think it makes a lot of sense. In any scenario, that you get it done now, especially in a circumstance like Chicago, where you know, Paxson and Gar Forman knew they were aware of what was coming.