San Diego Chargers: Tom Telesco’s Draft Greatness
When Tom Telesco came on as the San Diego Chargers’ general manager, he knew exactly how he wanted to build his team.
San Diego Chargers general manager Tom Telesco’s forte in player personnel has been finding starting talent in the draft. In the upcoming 2016 season, the Chargers project to have nine starters that have come from the past three years of Telesco’s drafting. That number hopes to increase by two or three with the 2016 NFL draft in April.
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In my last piece, I wrote that one of Telesco’s weaknesses as a general manager was implementing the “best player available” strategy while drafting. Laterally, this can also be seen as one of his strengths in player personnel. The “best player available” strategy is tough for a team when the organization is in the process of winning now. However, for a team that is in a rebuild, this strategy works best when trying to create a winning, successful organization.
In his initial draft in 2013, Telesco organized a terrific draft by selecting three starters in the first three rounds. With the selections of D.J. Fluker, Manti Teo, and Keenan Allen (in that order), Telesco presented his “best player available” strategy in a flawless manner.
This was exemplified in the third round pick of Keenan Allen, a receiver who was injured along with having a poor time in the 40-yard dash. Telesco overlooked these variables to see the tape on what kind of player Allen was and what he could become; with his status as the team’s number one receiver cemented, this pick is famously vindicated.
In 2014, Telesco picked an extremely undersized cornerback in Jason Verrett out of TCU. In a draft where there were five cornerbacks taken in the first round, the 5’9″ Verrett is the only one to have made a Pro Bowl thus far. While others saw a cornerback that was too tiny to hold up in the NFL, Telesco saw a tenacious defender with tremendous instincts and willingness. Telesco also took Jerry Attaochu in the second round, another starter. Attaochu has consistently improved his game as an edge rusher and looks to break out in the 2016 season.
With the 2015 draft, the “best player available” strategy was not used until the second round given that the Chargers drafted runningback Melvin Gordon in the first round. Middle linebacker Denzel Perryman was selected 48th overall by the team and looked like a confusing pick at first, considering that the Chargers had two certain starters in Manti Teo and Donald Butler.
Nonetheless, Perryman proved to be the best pick from this draft as he was awarded the starting role during the season and performed tremendously well whenever he stepped onto the field. Telesco also selected Craig Mager and Kyle Emanuel, two players who could both turn out to be something special in the long run, given their instincts and intangibles that were overlooked by other teams.
In the 2016 draft, I am confident that Telesco will surely choose the “best player available.” Barring a trade down, the Chargers will acquire one player among the prospects of Laremy Tunsil, Jalen Ramsey, Deforest Buckner, and Joey Bosa.
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Judging by the past drafts and with the mindset of building a solid competitor for years to come, Telesco will surely pick whichever player comes with the brightest future.