Open Rants by kkunert327

With the draft in the books time to go back and do a wrap up of how teams made out. I might be a bit of a harsh critic to the top 3 round picks, but that is where you need to hit in the draft to be successful. Sure most of the league is 4th rounders and later, but any that turn into Pro Bowlers or All-Pro players is mostly out of luck. So without further adieu, let's go over the San Diego.....I mean the Los Angeles Chargers draft class. 

1 (6) - Justin Herbert QB Oregon - C

1 (23) - Kenneth Murray LB Oklahoma - B- 

I was never sold on Herbert and if you ask me he is another Paxton Lynch, Blake Bortles, and a little bit of Mitch Trubisky type quarterback. The only benefit he comes with is experience, but not all of that good. He was stuck in a poor offense led by Mario Cristobal and I worry that he might not be able to transition to a more prototypical offense in the pros. His lack of an ability to play out of the pocket or when the play breaks down is very concerning. Especially, since he never faced a top pass rush in the Pac 12 and certainly none like the ones he will see in the NFL. He of course is your prototypical tall, strong armed, good looking, and smart quarterback that everyone falls in love with. To me he lacks upside as and to be able to make him play well when the play breaks down is more of an innate ability than one you can coach. That trait is what to me separated Burrow and Tua away from the rest of this quarterback class. He should not start right away, but you cannot tell me Tyrod Taylor will keep him away for long. Now the Murray pick I do not hate since he does fill a big need at the never ending rotation of linebackers in the middle of their defense. My issue is trading up for him when linebackers to me, especially off ball ones can be had throughout the draft. It's not a valuable position anymore on defense and even if I do love players like Luke Kuechly, Roquan Smith, and Bobby Wagner I am not sure how much of a true impact they can make in today's NFL. They can be very easily avoided and be outmatched by speedy slot receivers and tight ends. Murray does have a big leadership quality to him, but trading up for him was not worth it to me. I also do not see this roster as flawless as many do around the league, especially along the offensive line.

4 (6) - Joshua Kelley RB UCLA - B- 

5 (5) - Joe Reed WR WVU - D

6 (7) - Alohi Gillman S Notre Dame - C

7 (6) - K.J. Hill WR Ohio St - A 

Kelley is an okay back, but as mentioned before they need help along the line and I doubt Herbert will be as tough as Rivers has been to put up with it. People got on Rivers for throwing a ton of picks the last few years, but look at his o-line and point  to me the guy that is at least league average. He was hit a ton and tried to make plays as fast as he could to at least get the ball down field. Kelley could be a nice back to play off of Austin Ekeler, but he is a much similar back to Ekeler and I would not be shocked if he fails to push him for the starting job. He does fill a need, but like Murray, it does not mean I have to like it. Joe Reed is another typical speed receiver out of West Virginia that will not work. The list of failed WVU receivers is astounding, actually most players out of there never really pan out. If I was a GM I would avoid players from that program in general. Gillman fills a need at safety, but I am still waiting on that tackle pick that they so desperately need. My favorite pick of theirs is the K.J. Hill pick and I would not be shocked if he turns out to be a big steal from this class. Watching Ohio State he was always just open and he might not be the fastest, but he knew how to get open. Many Ohio St receivers do of late when they come to the NFL and unlike WVU talent, I trust Ohio State's to work for the most part in the NFL. They needed a third receiver with Keenan Allen and Mike Williams who do make a great tandem, but both have bad injury histories. Overall, this draft was just okay in my opinion, I really do like Hill and Murray as prospects, but that Herbert pick to me was a "we need a quarterback, so we took one" type of pick. Just because you need a quarterback does not mean you just draft any on the board. This could back fire greatly and cost GM Tom Telesco's and head coach Anthony Lynn's jobs. I give this draft a C+ and that's only because Murray probably will not fail, but trading up for him was not a smart draft move in my opinion. 

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