The Marathon Continues.

Post by **Soapy** » 06 Nov 2020, 19:24

Chargers Willing to Trade Number One Overall Pick, Work Out Several QBs
The Los Angeles Chargers are not 'beholden' to the number one pick in the draft according to an ESPN report that came out on Friday.

The Chargers have the first and fifteenth pick in the draft and are actively shopping the former after working out Fresno State QB Ronald McAneney, Boston College QB Leo Kirby and Oklahoma QB Will Castonzo.

Castonzo was the prohibitive favorite to be the first quarterback drafted and potentially the first player selected until a February arrested raised off the field concerns as Castonzo had also been arrested as a true freshman at Oklahoma.

Recently, the buzz has been about two Fresno State QBs in McAneney and his backup Zach Christie. Christie replaced McAneney when he went down with an injury this season and led the country in passing yards and touchdowns after being a career backup.

If Castonzo's perceived draft stock slippage is a reality, what other options are there for Chargers with their two draft picks?

There's the slew of offensive tackles such as Washington State's Reilly Urban, Oklahoma State Nelson Redmon, Auburn Enrique Miles, Ole Miss's Jayden Meredith, Texas's Bradley Carroll and Texas A&M Robert Hagan. The Chargers held private workouts with Redmon and Miles and has shown interest in Rice's Jerron Bowman.

Post by **Soapy** » 06 Nov 2020, 20:50

Chargers Bring Back WR Jefferson, LB Pinckney to Wrap Up Busy Free Agency Class

The Los Angeles Chargers have re-signed wide receiver Justin Jefferson to a three year, $19.4 million extension.

The deal is on the team friendly side after the team inked free agent WR D.K. Metcalf to a mega, four-year extension worth over $70 million. By bringing back Jefferson, the Chargers keep their top receivers intact while also adding Metcalf.

Linebacker Michael Pinckney was also re-signed on a one-year, $1 million deal, receiving a bit of a pay bump after starting several games this past season.

Los Angeles Chargers Signings
DE Christian Childs, 5yr/$87.3 million
CB Jalen Ramsey, 4yr/$71.8 million
WR D.K. Metcalf, 4yr/$71.8 million
S Derwin James, 4yr/$51.8 million
C Austin Griggs, 3yr/$29.9 million
WR Justin Jefferson, 3yr/$19.4 million
T Colton McKivitz, 2yr/$2.54 million
LB Michael Pinckney, 1yr/$1.01 million
P Johnny Townsend, 1yr/$950k

Notable Free Agent Signings
QB Jason Eason, 29 ‣ 75 ovr | Tampa Bay Buccaneers
QB Drew Lock, 30 ‣ 74 ovr | Oakland Raiders
QB Russell Wilson, 38 ‣ 73 ovr | Unsigned
QB Josh Rosen, 31 ‣ 71 ovr | Unsigned
QB Jake Fromm, 28 ‣ 71 ovr | Unsigned

HB Dalvin Cook, 32 ‣ 87 ovr | Chicago Bears
HB Miles Sanders, 30 ‣ 81 ovr | Cincinnati Bengals
HB Kevin Fox, 27 ‣ 78 ovr | Houston Texans
HB Trey Sermon, 26 ‣ 77 ovr | Tennessee Titans
HB Chris Carson, 32 ‣ 77 ovr | Unsigned

WR D.K. Metcalf, 29 ‣ 88 ovr | Los Angeles Chargers
WR Richard Leonard, 25 ‣ 81 ovr | Miami Dolphins
WR K.J. Hamler, 26 ‣ 77 ovr | Indianapolis Colts
WR Justin Jefferson, 28 ‣ 77 ovr | Los Angeles Chargers
WR Anthony Schwartz, 27 ‣ 76 ovr | Minnesota Vikings

TE Irv Smith Jr, 29 ‣ 82 ovr | Kansas City Chiefs
TE Shawn Starr, 26 ‣ 78 ovr | Baltimore Ravens
TE Brycen Hopkins, 29 ‣ 76 ovr | New England Patriots

T Taylor Agnew, 26 ‣ 85 ovr | Chicago Bears
T Tristan Wirfs, 29 ‣ 80 ovr | Jacksonville Jaguars
T Taylor Moton, 33 ‣ 77 ovr | Unsigned
T Tramon McKee, 27 ‣ 77 ovr | New York Jets
T Josh Myers, 28 ‣ 78 ovr | Kansas City Chiefs
G Ali Marpet, 34 ‣ 81 ovr | Houston Texans
G Brandon Scherff, 35 ‣ 77 ovr | Kansas City Chiefs
C Austin Griggs, 27 ‣ 81 ovr | Los Angeles Chargers
C Garrett Bradbury, 32 ‣ 77 ovr | New England Patriots

DE Christian Childs, 25 ‣ 84 ovr | Los Angeles Chargers
DT Grady Jarrett, 34 ‣ 83 ovr | Cincinnati Bengals
DE Fletcher Cox, 36 ‣ 80 ovr | Baltimore Ravens
DE Marcus Davenport, 30 ‣ 79 ovr | Minnesota Vikings
DE Thomas Booker, 26 ‣ 77 ovr | Philadelphia Eagles

OLB Zeke Shelton, 27 ‣ 76 ovr | San Francisco 49ers
ILB Troy Dye, 29 ‣ 76 ovr | Minnesota Vikings
ILB Tim Quick, 28 ‣ 75 ovr | Carolina Panthers

CB Jalen Ramsey, 32 ‣ 93 ovr | Los Angeles Chargers
CB Xavien Howard, 34 ‣ 77 ovr | Unsigned
CB Willie Gray, 26 ‣ 74 ovr | Houston Texans

S Derwin James, 31 ‣ 90 ovr | Los Angeles Chargers
S Kevin Byard, 34 ‣ 78 ovr | Unsigned
S Eddie Jackson, 33 ‣ 76 ovr | Unsigned
S Charlie Pelfrey, 24 ‣ 75 ovr | Detroit Lions

Post by **Soapy** » 06 Nov 2020, 21:17

LA Chargers Trade Down, Select QB Castonzo and T McKinley
For the second year in a row, the Los Angeles Chargers have traded down in an effort to collect asset but this time around, Chargers fans finally got their quarterback.

The Chargers traded their number one overall pick in the draft to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for the 16th pick in this year's draft, the 48th pick and another first round pick in next year's draft. With the fifteenth and sixteenth overall pick, the Chargers selected Oklahoma quarterback Will Castonzo and Arizona State offensive linemen Melvin McKinley.

Castonzo dealt with some off the field issues which hindered his draft stock but he ultimately went in the first round after some feared he'd be a day two pick. Castonzo impressed many at the combine, running a 4.56 40 time while also displaying more arm talent than many expected due to his stature at six foot one and 223 pounds.

At Oklahoma, Castonzo had 5,995 career passing yards along with 63 touchdowns and 1861 rushing yard and 31 career rushing touchdowns. He hopefully won't have to do too much scrambling as McKinley didn't surrender a single sack during his final season at Arizona State.

The McKinley was considered a surprised as many experts didn't grade him as highly as the other top tackles in the draft, some projecting him to go as late as the third round.

2027 NFL Draft Selections
1. SEA ‣ LB Markus Cleveland, Auburn (via trade with LAC)
2. NO ‣ DE Raheem Bradley, Florida State
3. DET ‣ TE Nicolas Ruiz, Air Force
4. DEN ‣ DT Kaelin Sylvester, Utah
5. NYG ‣ WR Wes Thorne, Auburn
6. CIN ‣ T Bradley Carroll, Texas
7. CHI ‣ T Reilly Urban, Washington State
8. SF ‣ WR Max Ray, New Mexico State
9. MIN ‣ DT Tre Darius, Miami
10. HOU ‣ WR Jeffrey Dalman, Arizona State
11. TEN ‣ CB Markell Waters, Virginia Tech
12. LV ‣ T Nelson Redmon, Oklahoma State
13. PHI ‣ CB Juan Parsons, Georgia
14. JAX ‣ LT Enrique Miles, Auburn
15. LAC ‣ QB Will Castonzo, Oklahoma
16. LAC ‣ T Melvin McKinley, Arizona State
17. NYJ ‣ T Jayden Meredith, Ole Miss
18. BUF ‣ T Robert Hagan, Texas A&M
19. NE ‣ S Danny McCarthy, South Carolina
20. TOR ‣ DT Zach Webb, Florida State
21. TB ‣ CB Koren Thierry, East Carolina
22. CAR ‣ WR Jaron Bradshaw, Oregon
23. IND ‣ WR Ruben Larson, Wyoming
24. CLE ‣ CB Tevin Ferguson, Buffalo
25. KC ‣ HB Jabari Bronson, BYU
26. GB ‣ HB Brandon Westbrook, Nebraska
27. LAR ‣ DT Cam Garland, Tennessee
28. PIT ‣ DE Ronald Logan, Colorado
29. BAL ‣ OLB Jamichael Solomon, Vanderbilt
30. DAL ‣ S Judah Finley, Boston College
31. ARI ‣ WR Kirby Gary, Louisville
32. MIA ‣ DE Russ Dell, Indiana

Post by **Soapy** » 06 Nov 2020, 21:34

Chargers Load Up On Offensive Line, Defense in Second Round
With five picks in the second round, it was a busy night for the Chargers War Room. The Chargers used their first four before trading away their 48th overall pick, 65th overall and their 129th overall pick to the Miami Dolphins for a future first round pick.

The Chargers selected offensive guard Chauncey Truman out of Tulane with the first pick of the second round.

Truman is listed at six-foot-three and 338 pounds with an impressive 10'1" broad jump at the NFL Combine, second best among offensive linemen. A powerful athlete, Truman was a key part of a Tulane rushing attack that amassed for over 2,000 yards rushing this past season. The Chargers struggled to run the ball at times last season and in Truman, they beef up the interior of that offensive line.

Two picks later, the Chargers were back on the board and this time around selected another offensive tackle in Jerron Bowman out of Rice after drafting offensive tackle Melvin McKinley in the first round. Similar to Truman, Bowman is a Group of Five product that doesn't look like a Group of Five offensive linemen. He's leaner at six-foot-eight and 329 pounds and while his pass blocking still needs work, Bowman is a very efficient run blocker despite his leaner frame.

The Chargers went defense with their next two picks in the second round, drafting linebacker DeAndre Bridge and safety Sean Butler at fifth and ninth respectively.

At Oregon State, Bridge was a run stuffing linebacker that was still able to be effective against the college spread offenses despite running a 4.75 forty at the combine which worried scouts. He's limited and likely won't be an every down backer even at the peak of his career but could find a role in this team on first and second downs.

Butler, on the other hand, was a virtually unknown prospect out of Drake University before his combine performance made folks take notice. He ran a 4.42 in the forty, had a 34.4" vert, 10'2" broad jump, 7.01 3-cone time, 4.22 20-yd shuttle and had 21 reps on the bench press. All of those numbers were either the best or second best among all safeties at the combine, getting him some looks and most likely a bump into the second round.

Post by **Soapy** » 06 Nov 2020, 21:39

Chargers Draft FB Eric Harper with Final Pick in Draft
With the 151th pick of the 2026 NFL Draft, the Los Angeles Chargers selected fullback Eric Harper out of Colorado.

Harper is the only offensive skill player that the Chargers drafted in this draft, selecting him with their final pick. Calling a fullback a skill position is a stretch but considering that outside of quarterback the Chargers only drafted defensive players and offensive players, at least Harper has an offensive touchdown to his name.

Six to be exact as he was used as a utility player at Colorado, lining up as a tight end at times as well as goal-line back.

Post by **Captain Canada** » 07 Nov 2020, 15:19

Excellent wheeling and dealing! Got some big fish in free agency :obama:

Post by **Soapy** » 07 Nov 2020, 15:44

Captain Canada wrote: ↑
07 Nov 2020, 15:19
Excellent wheeling and dealing! Got some big fish in free agency

Caesar questioned my GM skills so had to shut him up

Post by **Soapy** » 07 Nov 2020, 18:34

Chargers Invite 31 to Training Camp
The Los Angeles Chargers have signed 31 additional players in preparation for training camp.

QB Marcus Mariota
QB Lucas Regan.
HB Duke Johnson Jr.
HB Kyree Sampson
HB Justin Howell
HB Clinton McDonald
WR Will Fuller
WR Shaq Hodges
WR Travis White
TE John Craver
TE Harrison Bryant
TE Eli Malecki
T Tony Davies
T Marquel Calloway
G Gilbert Ellis
G Josh Knipfel
G Cole Allman
C Quinn Seidman
DE Will Ford
DE Quantavious Brooks
DE Matthew Ioannidis
DE Gerard Haden
DT Jordan Phillips
DT Malcom Brown
DT Harrison Phillips
DT Silas Fletcher
OLB Anthony Nelson
OLB Asahiah Staley
OLB Shaquil Barrett
OLB Lorenzo Carter
S Javelin Guidry

The list of players includes a few players that were a part of the team's active roster last season in HB Duke Johnson, TE Harrison Bryant and defensive end Will Ford.

Post by **Soapy** » 07 Nov 2020, 19:18

2027 Los Angeles Chargers Preview: Will Castonzo get the start at quarterback?
Early reports out of OTAs and early camp practices is that Will Castonzo is looking good....when running spread concepts out of the shotgun, a system he's familiar with. The rookie QB has struggled at times during camp when it comes to his footwork and general mechanics when asked to go under center, something he never did at Oklahoma.

With that in mind, Castonzo enters camp as the team's QB2 behind Rashaud Wheaton, who started most of last season and had a rollercoaster of a rookie season. He threw for 2,369 yards, fourteen touchdowns with ten interceptions while doing most his damage on the ground with 9.7 yards per carry and three touchdowns. However, he also had 12 fumbles.

Head coach Anthony Lynn has maintained that it's an open competition with all four QBs on the roster having a shot at the starting job.
Projected depth chart
#5 Rashaud Wheaton, Age 23 | 6'1", 218lbs | 63 ovr, 81 spd, 82 thp, 81 sac, 79 mac, 72 dac OR
#10 Will Castonzo, Age 21 | 6'1", 223lbs | 73 ovr, 87 spd, 89 thp, 84 sac, 82 mac, 79 dac

Potential Roster Cuts
#2 Lucas Regan, Age 27 | 5'11", 224lbs | 69 ovr, 85 spd, 88 thp, 80 sac, 84 mac, 76 dac
#8 Marcus Mariota, Age 33 | 6'4", 230bs | 66 ovr, 84 spd, 87 thp, 84 sac, 76 mac, 79 dac

Expected starter: The team went out and brought in a bunch of help along the offensive line, a premier receiver in D.K. Metcalf and bolstered their defense. They are going all-in on being a competitive team and right now, Castonzo appears to be the most talented of the bunch. However, don't sleep on Regan and Mariota who have stated multiple games with Mariota leading a team to the playoffs before.

Major storyline: If the team runs the offense that it did last season which predicated on deep shots to Justin Jefferson and going across the middle to Amon-Ra St. Brown along with more traditional timing routes out of a pro style offense, Mariota might be the better option. Will they switch it up and adjust to Castonzo's running ability?

Post by **Soapy** » 07 Nov 2020, 19:28

2027 Los Angeles Chargers Preview: Can Whittaker continue to hold off potential competitors for carries?
Last season, the deck was cleared for Felix Whittaker to be the team's feature back and when he was healthy, he was just that.

Whittaker averaged 90.4 yards per game last season and four touchdowns after having just fifteen carries as a second round pick during his rookie season. This time around, he's got a bit more competition. Duke Johnson returns as a reliable and safe receiving option out of the backfield while Tyron Floyd also showed promises last season as a rookie.

The team invited Kyree Sampson to camp, the former Toronto Husky that had seven rushing touchdowns last season and was a second round pick in 2023. Last year, Whittaker just had to beat out a few aging veterans and unproven undrafted free agents. Now, there's some competition.

Projected depth chart
#25 Felix Whittaker, Age 23 | 5'11", 212lbs | 69 ovr, 88 spd, 90 acc, 77 car, 70 btk
#34 Kyree Sampson, Age 25 | 5'9", 190lbs | 74 ovr, 90 spd, 90 acc, 80 car, 69 btk
#38 Duke Johnson Jr., Age 32 | 5'9", 210lbs | 70 ovr, 88 spd, 86 acc, 71 car, 77 btk
#27 Tyron Floyd, Age 23 | 5'9", 205lbs | 62 ovr, 92 spd, 89 acc, 71 car, 61 btk

Potential Roster Cuts
#32 Clinton McDonald, Age 26 | 5'9", 202lbs | 64 ovr, 95 spd, 91 acc, 75 car, 58 btk
#29 Justin Howell, Age 23 | 6'1", 233lbs | 51 ovr, 89 spd, 91 acc, 69 car, 63 btk

Expected starter: Whittaker did more than enough last season to be the team's feature back.

Major storyline: Sampson was stuck behind Angel McBride in Toronto and escaped his shadow this offseason only to go unsigned as a free agent. The man that was part of the Toronto front office that drafted him -- Stephon White -- is the Chargers GM. Will this reclamation project work?

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