San Diego Chargers Daily Links: April 16, 2012

AFC West links: Thomas prefers Manning - ESPN.com staff
The Tim Tebow-Demaryius Thomas connection from last season's playoff win against Pittsburgh might be one of the team's most memorable touchdowns in history, but Thomas wasn't overly nostalgic when Tebow was shipped out to make room for Peyton Manning. Thomas said Thursday that he prefers playing with a prototypical passing quarterback such as Manning.

Chargers 'wide open' to draft trade - Michael Gehlken
"We’re wide open," Smith said Thursday. "We have been always since I’ve been here, and we’ve done everything. We’ve gone up in the attack. We’ve bailed out in the past, and we’ve stayed where we are. It depends on circumstance."

The football version of a decathlete - Christopher Smith
South Carolina's Melvin Ingram, a 225-pound scoring point guard, running back and linebacker in high school, now is defined as a pass rusher. But that didn't stop him from scoring three touchdowns, playing on the Gamecocks' hands team and popping an occasional standing backflip.

Draft History: Defensive Ends - Christopher Smith
As we begin our preview of the defensive ends available in the 2012 NFL Draft, here’s a look at players the Chargers have drafted at the position.

Draft Grader: San Diego Chargers - Khaled Elsayed
he Chargers’ draft classes between 2008-2010 haven’t exactly set the world alight, though there is reason to believe that the 2010 class could turn out to be something special the more playing time the members get. Much like their AFC West neighbors the Raiders, San Diego don’t seem the type of franchise to be blinded by where they drafted someone, and with that in mind it will be interesting to see what becomes of the biggest bust in that period, Larry English. A solid, if at times unspectacular effort.

BTSC 2012 Community Mock Draft Pick No. 18 -- San Diego Chargers Select Nick Perry, DE/OLB, USC - barnerburner
Smith is trapped by his own legend, by a drafting run that any reasonable person could see just wasn't sustainable. Everyone has misses and busts and to expect otherwise is just silly, even in the 1st round. But now everyone expects him to work some kind of magic, to see something in the film that's invisible to everyone else. Everyone expects magic, but he's no magician. No, he's just a worker; a grinder.

NFL Draft preview: running backs - Michael Gehlken
The Chargers, at any moment, could sign a backup running back. Then again, why rush?