Los Angeles Chargers 2019 NFL Draft class quietly among best
The Los Angeles Chargers haul in the 2019 NFL Draft should be heavily mentioned among the best classes throughout the league.
For whatever reason, the Los Angeles Chargers often seem to be an overlooked commodity in the NFL. Nevermind the fact that, when healthy, Philip Rivers and company can beat any team in the league. They are simply not mentioned in the upper tier of many things. That can’t be said of them, however, after the 2019 NFL Draft.
Picking 28th overall in the first round, they weren’t likely to make headlines, nor was it easy to project who they would take. Despite that, they stuck the landing by adding defensive tackle Jerry Tillery.
The Notre Dame product immediately steps into a lacking defensive line and provides them a pass-rush threat up the middle, which not only adds a new dimension, but also further opens up the outside for Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram to get into opposing backfields.
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In the second round, the Chargers continued to find value, nabbing safety Nasir Adderley out of Delaware with the 60th overall pick. Adderley gives the Bolts another versatile weapon at safety, which is critical for a defense that loves to heavily utilize sub-packages that feature five or six defensive backs on the field. Adderley fits right into that and could be a future nightmare for opposing offenses when paired with Derwin James.
The Chargers weren’t finished doing damage then, either. On Day 3 of the draft, Los Angeles also nabbed linebacker Drue Tranquill out of Notre Dame, linebacker Emeke Egbule from Houston and Cincinnati defensive tackle Cortez Broughton. While all three players might not be stars, they add depth in areas where the Chargers needed to and represent great value for where they were selected.
Of course, the Chargers weren’t perfect in the draft. Taking offensive tackle Trey Pipkins in the third round was rich as he’s nothing but a developmental prospect, the same of which can be said of quarterback Easton Stick, who the Bolts tabbed in the fifth round. They are high-upside picks, certainly, but not ones that really move the needle in the way that their other selections did.
Even with those two picks in the mix for LA’s 2019 NFL Draft class, though, this is a group that was fighting for an AFC Championship berth a season ago and got notably better right away in the areas that they needed to. Guys like Tillery and Adderley (and even Tranquill) can help in major ways immediately, while everyone else outside of Pipkins and Stick have value in 2019 as well.
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The Chargers weren’t about making splashes or, as always, making headlines in the 2019 draft. However, they were about making their team better where they needed to. For that, they should be getting heaps of praise, though that may not happen until their class gets on the field and helps take them to a new gear.