32 Counter Pass
Footballguy
Doesn’t inspire much confidence.
Doesn’t inspire much confidence.
This team wasn't going to be converted into a challenger for the championship in one offseason. I think the goal for this season is just to return to respectability.
Also, I think they're still shopping the remaining WR free agent market. Granted, somewhat slim pickings.
Reading your run down actually makes me feel worse about this draft. Seems like a lot of reaches in the mid rounds.I will post my comments along with ranking and draft profile info for the Chargers draft picks here: 2024 Draft Rankings/Discussion
My thoughts and a lot of info on the top 6 picks are posted there. I will add the rest of the picks over the next 24 hours or so.
My impression at the moment is that this is better than any Telesco draft. I suppose one could say the 2020 drafted netted Herbert, which is by itself better than any of the draft picks in this 2024 draft... but the rest of that 2020 draft was awful.
Reading your run down actually makes me feel worse about this draft. Seems like a lot of reaches in the mid rounds.I will post my comments along with ranking and draft profile info for the Chargers draft picks here: 2024 Draft Rankings/Discussion
My thoughts and a lot of info on the top 6 picks are posted there. I will add the rest of the picks over the next 24 hours or so.
My impression at the moment is that this is better than any Telesco draft. I suppose one could say the 2020 drafted netted Herbert, which is by itself better than any of the draft picks in this 2024 draft... but the rest of that 2020 draft was awful.
In your analysis, and maybe I read it wrong, it seemed like 4.5 through 6.5 were all selected significantly above where the consensus had them in terms of their draft order ranges. That's what gave me pause. Also, I'm not convinced they needed to move up to take McConkey, that seemed a little panicky to me - ultimately it only cost them a move down of 27 spots in the swap, but I have to wonder if they would have gone a different direction than Still if they were 27 picks higher up for that selection.Reading your run down actually makes me feel worse about this draft. Seems like a lot of reaches in the mid rounds.I will post my comments along with ranking and draft profile info for the Chargers draft picks here: 2024 Draft Rankings/Discussion
My thoughts and a lot of info on the top 6 picks are posted there. I will add the rest of the picks over the next 24 hours or so.
My impression at the moment is that this is better than any Telesco draft. I suppose one could say the 2020 drafted netted Herbert, which is by itself better than any of the draft picks in this 2024 draft... but the rest of that 2020 draft was awful.
Really? Here is my quick take:
I have been a Chargers fan since 2004, when Rivers was traded to the Chargers on draft day. That 2004 draft was the best I have seen in my time as a fan. In the 20 drafts since the 2004 draft, IMO this is either the best or second best draft, depending on whether or not you want to say that drafting Herbert in 2020 makes that draft the best, even though the rest of the draft was terrible.
- 1.5 (5) - OT Alt - stud, period
- 2.2 (34) - WR McConkey - excellent match with Herbert, strong long term WR2, good pick
- 3.5 (69) - LB Colson - risk free 3rd round pick who will key Minter's defense and likely wear the green dot... probably the best Chargers 3rd round pick since 2013 (Allen)
- That is 3 day 1 starters in 3 picks.
- 4.5 (105) - DL Eboigbe - at minimum strong rotation player, could start because he is such a strong run defender; the Lightning Round podcast described him as very similar to Kris Jenkins (Michigan, pick 49)
- 5.2 (137) - CB Still - this is the only pick that really seemed like a reach to me; the LR podcast described him as very similar to Mike Sainristil (Michigan, pick 50)
- 5.5 (140) - CB Hart - definitely not a reach, right on point with the average rankings I posted
- 6.5 (181) - RB Vidal - I suppose this is arguably a reach, but it's a 6th round pick and at a position of need... does it really matter?
- 7.5 (225) - WR Rice - he was drafted ~100 picks later than the average rankings I posted, seems like a steal... and at a position of need
- 7.33 (253) - WR Johnson - a Michigan man for Harbaugh at a position of need... may not make the team, but how much does it matter for a player drafted as the 5th from the last pick in the draft?
In your analysis, and maybe I read it wrong, it seemed like 4.5 through 6.5 were all selected significantly above where the consensus had them in terms of their draft order ranges. That's what gave me pause. Also, I'm not convinced they needed to move up to take McConkey, that seemed a little panicky to me - ultimately it only cost them a move down of 27 spots in the swap, but I have to wonder if they would have gone a different direction than Still if they were 27 picks higher up for that selection.Reading your run down actually makes me feel worse about this draft. Seems like a lot of reaches in the mid rounds.I will post my comments along with ranking and draft profile info for the Chargers draft picks here: 2024 Draft Rankings/Discussion
My thoughts and a lot of info on the top 6 picks are posted there. I will add the rest of the picks over the next 24 hours or so.
My impression at the moment is that this is better than any Telesco draft. I suppose one could say the 2020 drafted netted Herbert, which is by itself better than any of the draft picks in this 2024 draft... but the rest of that 2020 draft was awful.
Really? Here is my quick take:
I have been a Chargers fan since 2004, when Rivers was traded to the Chargers on draft day. That 2004 draft was the best I have seen in my time as a fan. In the 20 drafts since the 2004 draft, IMO this is either the best or second best draft, depending on whether or not you want to say that drafting Herbert in 2020 makes that draft the best, even though the rest of the draft was terrible.
- 1.5 (5) - OT Alt - stud, period
- 2.2 (34) - WR McConkey - excellent match with Herbert, strong long term WR2, good pick
- 3.5 (69) - LB Colson - risk free 3rd round pick who will key Minter's defense and likely wear the green dot... probably the best Chargers 3rd round pick since 2013 (Allen)
- That is 3 day 1 starters in 3 picks.
- 4.5 (105) - DL Eboigbe - at minimum strong rotation player, could start because he is such a strong run defender; the Lightning Round podcast described him as very similar to Kris Jenkins (Michigan, pick 49)
- 5.2 (137) - CB Still - this is the only pick that really seemed like a reach to me; the LR podcast described him as very similar to Mike Sainristil (Michigan, pick 50)
- 5.5 (140) - CB Hart - definitely not a reach, right on point with the average rankings I posted
- 6.5 (181) - RB Vidal - I suppose this is arguably a reach, but it's a 6th round pick and at a position of need... does it really matter?
- 7.5 (225) - WR Rice - he was drafted ~100 picks later than the average rankings I posted, seems like a steal... and at a position of need
- 7.33 (253) - WR Johnson - a Michigan man for Harbaugh at a position of need... may not make the team, but how much does it matter for a player drafted as the 5th from the last pick in the draft?
McConkey had injury issues too. I guess this regime is o.k. with that kind of risk.
Can you say what his "score" is from this year with the Raiders? It seems Raider Fans are on board with the picks he made this year. Wonder why the change?I watched another Guilty As Charged podcast on YouTube. The discussion is about the different approach Hortiz took to the draft in comparison to Telesco. It is obviously a small sample size of just one draft for Hortiz, but the differences are notable and very positive for the Chargers.
3rd Round
The most important difference they noted is the 3rd round. I have noted many times in the past that Telesco had a tendency to use 3rd round picks on reaches who mostly didn't pan out. Here were Telesco's 3rd round picks with the Chargers:
The jury is out on Henley. Allen was great, and Palmer is solid. Pipkins has been a 2 year starter at RT, but he also just got drafted over in Hortiz's first draft, so it doesn't seem like he is good enough for what Harbaugh wants at OT. The other 7 players on that list were collectively awful.
- 2013 - WR Keenan Allen
- 2014 - OL Chris Watt
- 2015 - CB Craig Mager
- 2016 - C Max Tuerk
- 2017 - IOL Dan Feeney
- 2018 - IDL Justin Jones
- 2019 - OT Trey Pipkins
- 2020 - Traded to move up to draft LB Kenneth Murray
- 2021 - WR Josh Palmer
- 2021 - TE Tre McKitty
- 2022 - S J.T. Woods
- 2023 - LB Henley
The GAC guys highlighted that Telesco's 3rd round picks for the Chargers were drafted an average of 96.5 spots earlier than their consensus draft ranking since 2016. He repeated this tendency in this year's draft with the Raiders, taking Delmar Glaze at pick 77 when his consensus ranking was 152.
In contrast, Hortiz took Colson in the 3rd round, 5 spots later than his consensus ranking.
I realize that consensus rankings are media creations, and each team has its own board with many different rankings. But I have a lot of respect for many draft analysts who seem to do a great job with their grades and analysis. It seems reasonable to use those rankings as a proxy for comparisons.
Trading Up
They pointed out that Telesco traded up 4 times, each time giving up an extra pick in the draft, whereas Hortiz traded up by swapping picks, meaning he did not lose a draft pick (i.e., he was still able to draft 9 players).
They also pointed out that each time Telesco traded up, it was for a non-premium position (LB Teo, LB Attaochu, RB Gordon, LB Murray). In contrast, Hortiz traded up for a premium position this year: WR McConkey.
Relative Athletic Score
The average RAS for all of Telesco's draft picks with the Chargers was 7.52. The average for Hortiz's picks this year was 8.41.
Can you say what his "score" is from this year with the Raiders? It seems Raider Fans are on board with the picks he made this year. Wonder why the change?
Thanks. It just seems the fans liked this draft. Maybe he learned his lesson.Can you say what his "score" is from this year with the Raiders? It seems Raider Fans are on board with the picks he made this year. Wonder why the change?
Using the NFL Mock Draft Database 2024 Consensus Big Board:
1.13 (13) - TE Bowers - ranked 7, good value
2. (44) - C JPJ - ranked 30, good value
3. (77) - OL Glaze - ranked 152, so picked 75 picks higher than that ranking... seems like poor value
4. (112) - CB Richardson - ranked 149, so picked 37 picks higher than that ranking... seems like poor value
5. (148) - LB Eichenberg - ranked 133, solid value
6. (208) - RB Laube - ranked 177, solid value
7. (223) - FS Taylor - ranked 210, fine value
7. (229) - DB Devonshire - ranked 185, good value, though mildly surprising they took Taylor with the earlier 7th round pick
I don't know much about these players other than Bowers and JPJ, and I don't follow the Raiders enough to know about their roster, so I can't comment too intelligently about this draft. I want to also note that it should be expected that there is more variance between team draft boards and consensus rankings deeper in the draft, let's say day 3, so 4th round and later.
Some positives include drafting 8 players, more than Telesco's average with the Chargers, and not trading up, something he did multiple times with the Chargers with poor results.
That said, his 3rd and 4th round picks may undermine the overall value of this draft, which was a consistent problem for Telesco with the Chargers. Teams should be getting starters or impactful rotation players in those rounds.
The other problem with this draft could be that they did not land a QB. The draft did not fall in a way that helped them do that, but they could have chosen to trade up for one and didn't.
Looks like they are signing Chark.
WR (6) - Johnston, Palmer, McConkey (R), Rice (R), Davis, Johnson (R)