For those that have been a little busy for the past few days (myself included, sorry fellas), it's time to recap what the Chargers have done and what is still left to do.
Day 1: This was touched on earlier, but the Chargers targeted their favorite player (Ryan Matthews) at their biggest need position (RB) and did what it took to get him. If they didn't, they could've spent all season wondering what this team could've been with the running back they really wanted. When you have a team that's already considered "loaded", targeting the guys you think are the missing pieces and going after them is always a wise plan.
In addition, Matthews has big potential that not many people are talking about. Ryan is a Southern California native, which is mainly why he went to Fresno State. Like most areas, we like our own. If Matthews turns into a Pro Bowl caliber running back, pulling off classy moves along the way (like refusing to take his college number of #21 on principle), he could be a hero in this town. Lucky for him, he just landed in one of the league's best offenses with a head coach that has a history of getting Pro Bowl seasons out of power running backs.
Day 2: The Chargers gave up a couple of lower-round picks to get the inside Linebacker that they obviously had the most interest in. This may not seem like a huge need, especially in comparison to RB, but Stephen Cooper and Kevin Burnett are probably gone after this season. With Tim Dobbins traded yesterday, it wouldn't be a stretch to see the pick of Donald Butler as a move to set up a tandem of Butler-Brandon Siler on the inside for 2011 and beyond.
All in all, I like how this draft is going. Jacob Hester aside, when this team (A.J. Smith and his team of scouts) takes the player that they want instead of the player that happens to fall to their spot, they have pretty good success. I can't wait to see how the rest of the draft pans out.