2015 NFL Draft Grades: San Diego Chargers

How did the San Diego Chargers’ draft rank and grade after seven rounds of the 2015 NFL draft?

The San Diego Chargers only took five players in the 2015 NFL draft. General manager Tom Telesco had to be quite exact with so few picks. Of course he gave up picks for next year to move up from 17 to 15 to draft Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon, which I’ve been critical of—not because I don’t like Gordon, but because moving up seemed unnecessary.

The rest of the draft was not terribly exciting either, though the Chargers seemed to get some value in later rounds. Below are the picks with a grade for each pick. We’ll then analyze each individual pick, before finishing with a cumulative grade for the entire draft.

Melvin Gordon is fast, elusive, can catch, can pass protect. In short, he’s the complete running back. But make no mistake, he is a running back. His best trait is his ability to take a handoff and find open holes to burst through at speeds that don’t seem human. He should become the Chargers’ next all-world running back.

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The Denzel Perryman pick is another story entirely. Many analysts love the pick because they love the player. I do not. Perryman looks lost on the field when the film is observed. He seemingly floats, but not very quickly. Other than the fact he’s built well for a linebacker, there are no redeeming qualities about him.

Craig Mager, the Texas State corner, is a player I had with a fourth- or fifth-round grade on, but I get the appeal. He is a great athlete for his size and fits the Seattle Seahawks’ model of a big corner with excellent athleticism. Though he may have been overdrafted (read: “reach”), it’s hard to argue with Telesco falling in love. He’ll likely look like a solid pick when we reassess this draft in a few years.

Then there was Darius Philon, who I had as a top-150 player. The Chargers got him at No. 192, meaning they got good value with that pick—probably the one time they didn’t reach during this draft.

Then again the Chargers kind of had to reach given that they only had five picks and had to make the most of them.

All in all, it’s hard to argue with four of the five picks. It’s just that Perryman pick that doesn’t get me excited. Other than that, it was a solid draft given they only had five picks to work with in 2015.

Overall Grade: B