[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”]
[et_pb_row admin_label=”row”]
[et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]
In my somewhat fevered search for the next long-term solution at center, the last name mentioned here caught my attention. Unfamiliar but will be looking for some tape to view. I'm admittedly a sucker for the small school guys. Guess it's an underdog thing. Still high on Zabel too. I could endorse a trade back up for him (or maybe down a little?) a la McConkey.
@buck-melanoma Buck unless we take Zabel at 1.22 I don't see a way to get him. He probably gets picked after us in Rd1 and even if he slips to day two, I don't think it will be far enough for us to even go up and get him without the price being steep.
@evolz3737 you're likely right. And even though I am passionate about addressing the center position (and feel we still have only hope for the best right now) and really like Zabel, there's little evidence to support his successful transition to that position. That combined with other, IMO, even greater needs makes me shy away from picking him at 1.22. As several have said here...you, me, Kyle, Tau and others....we missed a strong center class last year. I certainly don't regret Alt or McConkey but sure would've celebrated Frazier or JPJ.
@buck-melanoma Maybe you guys can help me, but I have a hard time getting my head around the safety of taking another player from NDSU. I know Zabel performed well at the Senior Bowl (or Shrine, not sure), but the competition level over his collegiate career . . . . And so many misfires, including two QBs who we have connection with.
@kathmandusteve I look at the player. He excelled at a very strong FCS program and is showing he can play against the next level quite well. I judge a player on his merits and like Zabel's.
@evolz3737 I certainly could end up eating crow, but I don't think they'll take OL until the 3rd at the earliest.
The way they've constructed the roster to date, it seems imperative that their focus in the top picks is pass rush and offensive weapons.
Even putting roster holes aside, this is also the best strategy from a cap perspective.
@blue-beers Your comment about cap perspective is only true for WR, right? RB and TE are not high cap positions nowadays.
I hope they don't draft a WR in the top 2 rounds. The right TE is okay, and the right RB is okay. But I really hope they come out of those rounds with Edge and IDL players.
Dane Brugler's annual draft guide "The Beast" is out.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/the-beast/2025/
@evolz3737 I agree. Don't always agree with Brugler's takes/rankings but it's a plethora of info.
IF I were to draft DL at 1.22 I'd be hoping for one of the upper tier edges to be available and the choice. I just see DT as deep enough to wait a bit.
@buck-melanoma The more I read and see other people talk I am starting to think both TE will be long gone by 1.22. I am now thinking that DT is going to be the pick. I think the defensive players on the board at that spot will be the best available. I would say right now I suspect DT, Edge, WR in that order to be the probable positions picked unless Barron or Campbell fell. They would probably represent the BPA at 1.22 if they were there.
@evolz3737 yeah, as we get closer I'm thinking the same about the top 2 TE's.
In that scenario I could see some of the other less needed positions be BPA and the pick, like a Campbell, Barron, or even Emmanwori.
I still think I'd go edge before DT but I'm not opposed to DT first. I just think the drop-off is sooner at edge.
Oddly enough, had just drafted this guy in a mock (5th round) just before the article hit my email.
If he checks out medically (and lasts) I'd certainly invest a 3rd. That strategy worked out pretty well once before. 😉
https://www.si.com/nfl/chargers/los-angeles-chargers-predicted-big-nfl-draft-risk-tory-horton
@buck-melanoma Buck I think he will last until Rd4. His injury really cost him last season and I do think he is a little stiff, but he has the size/speed combo you look for in an X WR. He will definitely need some polish with route running and just the nuance of the position. When you watch him everything is 100 MPH. The pace, the cuts, the chop steps. He can look frantic on the field, but he has the ability immediately, if nothing else, to be your deep speed WR to open up the underneath for Ladd or Egbuka 
@evolz3737 I honestly think he can do everything, at least with some polish as you said, that MWill can and has. I've always felt he was drastically overdrafted largely based on Clemson's success.
@buck-melanoma Come on Buck. MWill absolutely dominated the ACC and then had great games against Ohio State and then Alabama to win the championship.
Horton's only "Great" season was in the Mountain West and he has a lot more to work on to be successful in the NFL.
Horton is faster than MWill but that is the only thing he is better at. MWill was/is physical at the point of attack and owned the sideline routes. Horton is not physical at all and shrinks against physical coverage.
I'm not saying he's a bad prospect, but he's not comparable to MWill at all IMO. I think he's more comparable to QJ to be honest. Go watch his highlights, its a lot like QJ.
@blue-beers I live in ACC land and watched a LOT of MWill at Clemson. He disappeared for long stretches there just as he did as a Charger.
Maybe my comparison is a bit hyperbolic but I'll die on the hill that Williams should have never been the 7th overall pick. The production has never been there. And he was drastically overpaid.
@buck-melanoma Maybe not 7th overall, no argument there but he was a WAY better prospect than Horton.
MWill was pro-ready day 1, and you can't say that for the vast majority of draft prospects. You can say he was overdrafted a bit, but he wasn't a "bust".
@blue-beers no, not a bust but he's never lived up to his draft spot or paycheck.
Hmmmm....I don't see this happening.
At this point, my "surprise" pick in the 1st round would be if they took an O-linemen, like Kelvin Banks or someone along those lines.
DT/Edge/TE seem the most likely, so I'd view anything outside of those as a surprise but there's no way they're taking a corner.
@blue-beers I agree. I'd like TE but feel it's likely the 2 guys worth it will be gone.
@buck-melanoma I want Edge or DT but I won't be upset about TE. I just don't think its best use of draft resources.
@blue-beers I understand your thinking, but if that TE is one of the top two, it’s at least not a shabby use of resources.
@smith I think one of those 2 would seriously unleash this offense. DT is deep and can wait a round, IMO. If it's not TE I'd opt for edge.
@buck-melanoma I know I'm in the vast minority but I feel differently. I think they're getting overhyped because its a very weak draft class. Loveland in particular. I think its more likely he'd have a pretty similar impact to a player like Dalton Kincaid and that is not worth a first round pick to me.
They have Conklin and Dissly for blocking and short outlets (Conklin in particular has been one of league's best on those) and there are plenty of other TEs in this draft that can split the seam and be a more "explosive element" and they're projected in the 2nd - 3rd round. Maybe they wouldn't be quite as good as Loveland, but I don't think the dropoff is as steep as folks are making it out to be.
I'd be on board to take Warren more than Loveland, but in either case, if they do go that route, then I sincerely hope its because they think that one of those guys is going to be the centerpiece of the offense.
@blue-beers I think it is imperative to add a playmaker in the first 2 rounds. Some would argue that could be a RB, but I would not. People are pumped and nostalgic about M Will, but he's oft injured and is only here for a year. I would not be counting on him to be a stalwart centerpiece for the offense. Harris is a wash from Dobbins and we still do not have a weapon in the passing game outside of Ladd. I would not expect more than a mediocre upgrade from Conklin. He is OK at best, not a game changer. In reality this offense is marginally better on paper than it was at the end of last year. It needs a pass catcher or two and a longer term option at RB. IMO, it is either Loveland, Warren or Egbuka in Rd1 or hopefully Tre Harris, Higgins or Bech are available in Rd 2. If we didn't land one of the top 2 TE I would punt on it until at least the 3rd Rd. I would try to target Fannin there. He isn't the perfect prospect but he is exactly what this offense needs from a pass catching perspective at TE. This is a very weird draft. I cannot remember a draft where team strategy weighed so heavily on the picks preceding theirs.
@evolz3737 100% agree with your quote below, I'm just not feeling like those are going to be the best choice at #22.
It needs a pass catcher or two and a longer term option at RB.
You know as much as we do as to what direction it will go. However, if Loveland is there and they pass...many charger fans heads will be spinning. Who would they then draft if not Loveland?
@icebolt I’ve already outlined this in other posts, but I simply would not draft a TE in the first round unless they’re going to design the offense around the TE like the zraiders did with Bowers.
TE is a relatively “cheap” position in the NFL and it’s not worth drafting in the 1st round for 3 - 5 catches per game.
Greg Roman has run offenses featuring the TE in the past so if they feel Loveland or Warren or whoever is the man to be the focal point, then fine, but if they pass on TE, that’s fine with me. I don’t think the drop off to one of the other athletic pass catchers like Taylor or Arroyo or Fannin is as steep as folks are making it to be in terms of what the player would actually add to the offense.
The first 3 could make my first round cluster, though it's looking less likely that Loveland will be available at 1.22.
No way to Hampton. It's not the player, it's the cost.
@buck-melanoma Not for nothing, ChatGPT said the highest likelihood is Hampton followed by Loveland. We’ll see how fine tuned the algorithms are next week.
Mock Draft example with WR at 1.22 (no trades)
- @alisterlloyd I like your choices but see no way in hell Ollie Gordon lasts that long. Probably not Jaylen Smith either.
It's not your fault that the simulator you used is so unrealistic, but it results in a draft that is unrealistic. IMO:
- Frazier will be gone by the 4th round at the latest.
- Like Buck said, no way Gordon is available at the end of the 7th.
- Will Evans be available at 158? Maybe, but not a given.
- I will be disappointed if they don't get an Edge better than Robinson.
- As you know, IMO Golden in the first is not maximizing draft capital. More importantly, I would be surprised if Hortiz-Harbaugh go WR in the first, unless possibly McMillan is there. (I still wouldn't.)
@tau837 I am warming to Egbuka in Rd1 if we don’t get Loveland. He can play Z immediately and he is already very polished and has an extremely high floor. I think he is being underrated.
Some good stuff in here. Particularly interested in what they said about Treyveon Henderson, Savion Williams, Scourton, the IDL class in general, and Arroyo.
[/et_pb_row]
[/et_pb_section]
