- LA Times
Rookie coach Brandon Staley comes off as take Chargers kind of guy
Chargers rookie coach Brandon Staley lived through his first day of being the top guy on the field with reverence, citing the surroundings of his rise.
Los Angeles Draft Picks
Rashawn
Slater
1
Rnd
13
Pk
OT
Position
- Draft Grade: A-
- Pre-Draft Rank: 15
- School: Northwestern
- Height: 6' 4"
- Weight: 304
Eric Edholm's Commentary
The Chargers absolutely needed to add to their bulwark in front of Justin Herbert, and they get a super-athletic tackle (or is he a guard?) to help that effort. Slater opted out last season but had three seasons of starting experience for the Chargers to view — at both OT spots. They also had good intel on Slater from Cody Cejda, who joined the staff from Northwestern. A really nice pick here.
Asante
Samuel
2
Rnd
15
Pk
CB
Position
- Draft Grade: A-
- Pre-Draft Rank: 45
- School: Florida St.
- Height: 5' 10"
- Weight: 180
Eric Edholm's Commentary
Two picks, two big holes filled. Tom Telesco understands value, and Samuel being on the board at this point was a surprise. Samuel might be tried inside, but his tape outside — even while lacking great length — was mostly great. Cutting Casey Hayward opened a big hole and Chris Harris is entering the final year of his deal. This is a nice choice.
Josh
Palmer
3
Rnd
14
Pk
WR
Position
- Draft Grade: B
- School: Tennessee
- Height: 6' 1"
- Weight: 210
Eric Edholm's Commentary
We low-key love this pick and love what the Chargers are doing. Palmer suffered from horrific QB play with the Vols, but he had some great tape against the strong secondaries of Alabama and Georgia (beating first-rounder Patrick Surtain II and second-rounder Tyson Campbell for TDs last season). Palmer isn’t a burner, but he has natural separation ability. He’ll give Justin Herbert a nice weapon for the next several years.
Tre'
McKitty
3
Rnd
34
Pk
TE
Position
- Draft Grade: C-
- School: Georgia
- Height: 0' 6"
- Weight: 245
Eric Edholm's Commentary
This is the first Chargers pick we haven’t loved. McKitty showed some intriguing pass-receiving ability at Florida State but wasn’t featured at all in his grad transfer year at UGA (six catches on 10 targets in seven games). He’s a functional blocker and pass-catcher with some juice after the catch. But it’s a bit steep to take a reserve tight end at this stage.
Chris
Rumph
4
Rnd
13
Pk
EDGE
Position
- School: Duke
- Height: 6' 3"
- Weight: 244
Brenden
Jaimes
5
Rnd
15
Pk
OT
Position
- School: Nebraska
- Height: 6' 5"
- Weight: 298
Nick
Niemann
6
Rnd
1
Pk
LB
Position
- School: Iowa
- Height: 6' 3"
- Weight: 234
Larry
Rountree
6
Rnd
14
Pk
RB
Position
- School: Missouri
- Height: 5' 11"
- Weight: 211
Mark
Webb
7
Rnd
13
Pk
S
Position
- School: Georgia
- Height: 6' 1"
- Weight: 207
AFC West Standings
| W | L | T | Pct | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | |
| 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | |
| 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | |
| 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 |
- z
- - Clinched Home Field