The first draft under new general manager Joe Hortiz and new head coach Jim Harbaugh is complete and fans of the Chargers should be excited about the football team that is going to take the field in the 2024 season.
Coming into this draft, we knew a few things. We knew what brand of football Harbaugh likes to play. We also knew there was a chance he would target some of his former players at Michigan in this draft.
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Mel Kiper, ESPN's draft guru who is usually a tough critic, gave the Chargers one of his better overall grades. I was in favor of most of the picks the team made, so let's take a look at how the report card shakes out.
Los Angeles Chargers 20204 draft grade
Round 1- Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame
Round 2- Ladd McConkey, WR, Georgia
Round 3- Junior Colson, LB, Michigan
Round 4- Justin Eboigbe, DT, Alabama
Round 5- Tarheeb Still, CB, Maryland
Round 5- Cam Hart, CB, Notre Dame
Round 6- Kimani Vidal, RB, Troy
Round 7- Brenden Rice, WR, USC
Round 7- Cornelius Johnson, WR, Michigan
Pick-by-pick grades
Round 1, Pick No. 5: Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame
Some Chargers fans are always going to wish that the team would have drafted Malik Nabers or Rome Odunze in this spot. Either of them would have looked great catching passes from Justin Herbert. But that goes against what we know Harbaugh likes to do.
Instead, the team added the best tackle in this class and can now pair him with Rashawn Slater to form arguably the best tackle duo in football.
Grade: A (93/100)
Round 2, Pick No. 34: Ladd McConkey, WR, Georgia
The Chargers didn't take a wide receiver in round one but did take one in round two, trading up a few slots to do so. The idea of Herbert being able to drop back and find Ladd McConkey in the passing game is exciting as he can really help open up this offense.
The Chargers lost a lot in their short passing game when Austin Ekeler left in free agency. McConkey can catch 100 passes a season and be a monster in the short to intermediate passing game.
Grade: A- (90/100)
Round 3, Pick No. 69: Junior Colson, LB, Michigan
Harbaugh finds one of the guys that helped him win a national championship in a great spot here as Junior Colson had the ability to be drafted a lot higher than this.
He should be a day one starter in the middle of this defense and make an instant impact.
Grade: A (94/100)
Round 4, Pick No. 105: Justin Eboigbe, DT, Alabama
The Chargers needed help on the defensive line and this was about the right place to target that. Justin Eboigbe is not flashy but he does offer something as a pass-rusher out of the middle.
The defensive line is a very unsettled unit for the Chargers and Eboigbe could have a chance to be a starter as a rookie.
Grade: B (84/100)
Round 5, Pick No. 137: Tarheeb Still, CB, Maryland
Harbaugh and Hortiz are doing a great job of navigating through this draft as this was again the right time to target another need, which was at the cornerback position.
Despite the free-agent signing of Kristian Fulton this offseason, the team needed more depth and Tarheeb Still was a solid find in this spot in the draft. He could have a chance to see a lot of defensive snaps as a rookie in the nickel.
Grade: B (85/100)
Round 5, Pick No. 140: Cam Hart, CB, Notre Dame
Three picks later, the Chargers decided to double-dip at cornerback. That was a terrific decision as well as the team had little depth behind Fulton and Asante Samuel Jr. going into this draft.
Hart has great size at 6-foot-3 and that gives him ideal length as a cornerback. He is an experienced player coming from one of college football's top programs. I like this pick even better than the Still selection and see Hart as a future starter for this team.
Grade: B+ (88/100)
Round 6, Pick No. 181: Kimani Vidal, RB, Troy
Kimani Vidal is the all-time leading rusher in Troy history and he was second in the country in rushing yardage last season. He can sit behind J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards to begin his career and the team can plug him at opportunistic times before easing him into a bigger role, which he will have.
I felt that the Chargers needed to find a replacement for Ekeler in this draft and this was the perfect pick to do that.
Grade: A (93/100)
Round 7, Pick No. 225: Brenden Rice, WR, USC
It's a bit bewildering as to why Brenden Rice was still on the board here when many draft analysts had a fourth-round grade on him, but he was the best player on the board at this stage by a lot so it's impossible to argue with the pick.
Now if the Chargers can get anything at all that looks like his father, Jerry Rice, out of him, then the pick will pay off in spades.
Grade: A- (91/100)
Round 7, Pick No. 253: Cornelius Johnson, WR, Michigan
Suddenly, the Chargers have three wide receivers in this class and though Cornelius Johnson could certainly become part of the team's plans at some point, this felt mostly like Harbaugh wanting to close the draft with another Wolverine.
Grade: B- (80/100)
Overall Grade
The Chargers did quite well for themselves in this draft. The offensive line has a chance to be what Harbaugh wants it to be... physically imposing and dominant. The team also added multiple picks at two positions that needed much more depth between wide receiver and cornerback.
The late-round choices of Vidal and Rice could both be home runs. There wasn't much to nitpick about with this class. Hortiz and Harbaugh get two thumbs up for their first time sitting together in the war room.
Overall Grade: B+ (88.6/100)
