The Perfect Draft: San Diego Chargers

With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.

The San Diego Chargers were one of the earliest contenders to be drafting a running back in the 2009 NFL draft (and they probably would have had their pick, too, if not for those darned kids). But then Darren Sproles got tagged with the old franchiser and LaDainian Tomlinson worked out his feud with A.J. Smith, and, suddenly, the Chargers were back to the secretly-stacked squad that just needs a little defensive help.

Okay, "little" might be off -- it was the absence of Shawne Merriman last year that killed the defense as a whole; without Merriman in the middle of the D to create havoc, the secondary suffered and teams moved the ball almost at will against San Diego. In other words, you should see some defensive picks in this year's draft.

The Ideal Pick

Everette Brown. The versatile former Seminole seems like an unlikely selection, simply because his stock has been rising and the Chargers would consider themselves very lucky to nab him (additionally, he can play LB or DE, which would be a perfect solution in the event of future concern surrounding Merriman). Tyson Jackson or Aaron Maybin would be considered wins here as well, possibly, given the need to shore up the defensive front.

Other Needs

Offensive line is another area that could/will be addressed in this draft for the Chargers. It seems likely that the team will use its second-round (and/or subsequent) pick in order to shore up the position, but the possibility of selecting Michael Oher out of Mississippi in the first round, provided he drops, also hangs out there. The other thing that might not get mentioned is the Chargers' desire to shore up their running back depth. Yes, they have LT and Sproles, but obviously the team isn't convinced that Sproles is an every-down back. That could certainly result in San Diego picking a running back (again) in order to make sure they don't get caught with all their proverbial eggs in one backfield, so to speak.