7th Round (Compensatory): San Diego Chargers Select RB Edwin Baker

Throughout almost the entire draft fans wondered if the Chargers would pick up another RB that could develop into a #2 RB and fill in, along with LeRon McClain, if Ryan Mathews were to suffer an injury. In the 7th round the Chargers took a Michigan St. Spartan that certainly has that kind of potential. Earlier, one of the draft experts on ESPN, suspecting that Baker could slip out of the draft, mentioned that he could be this year's Arian Foster. Foster is one of the few UDFA's in recent years that's made a Pro Bowl, so that's high praise.

Baker gets good grades for his vision, patience, power, balance and competitiveness. He runs hard and can push a pile even though he's not a big back. That's probably why he slipped to the 7th round despite many giving him much higher grades. He doesn't run like a RB of his size. The Chargers have some experience with a couple other backs where that was true. He's also not the quickest, but can make up for that with his vision and smart cutbacks. In the passing game, much like when Ryan Mathews came out, there is a lot of work to do running routes and catching the ball. However, he's a willing and strong pass protector and has good technique.

It would seem that the Chargers found an excellent compliment to what the team currently has at the RB position. That being said, he was a 7th rd pick for a reason and he wouldn't be the first RB drafted late by the Chargers that ends up not amounting to much and getting cut very quickly. We'll have to wait and see.