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San Diego Chargers Trade Up, Draft Manti Te'o

The San Diego Chargers traded up in the 2nd round of the 2013 NFL Draft to grab Manti Te'o, Linebacker out of Notre Dame.

By John Gennaro
Jonathan Daniel

Let the "imaginary girlfriend" jokes commence!

The San Diego Chargers traded up in the 2nd round, giving up their 2nd and 4th round draft picks, to ensure that they could draft ILB Manti Te'o from the University of Notre Dame.

Te'o played as a 3-4 Inside Linebacker in college and should be the favorite to replace Takeo Spikes as the "Mike" Linebacker in John Pagano's defense. He was widely thought of as a first-round prospect after winning the following awards in 2012:

  • Loft Trophy
  • Maxwell Award
  • Chuck Bednarik Award
  • Walter Camp Award
  • Bronko Naguski Trophy
  • Butkus Award
  • Lombardi Award


I could keep going. Te'o was all over the field for the Fighting Irish and only dropped in the draft due to off-the-field baggage and a poor showing at the NFL Combine, which was later proven to be a side effect of his off-the-field baggage when he turned in an excellent Pro Day.

I don't mind this selection one bit. What do you guys think?

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