Chargers Roundtable: Who Is Your Offensive Draft Crush?

Today we're going to go over our offensive draft crushes. Not going to be guys that are going in the top 10. Just guys that are aesthetically pleasing to us for whatever reason.

Kyle Posey: Mine is Isaiah Ford. I'm a sucker for a receiver who can get open without relying on athleticism. That's Ford. He is one of the top route runners in the class. He makes corners look silly at the line, often turning them around. His QB gave him a chance down the field, and Ford also showed off some high-end ball skills making acrobatic catches look easy. He's likely going to go somewhere in the middle rounds, but he is far more talented than that.

Jamie Sewell: There's only one answer here. Patrick Lavon Mahomes II - a player so good I've genuinely started a cult on BFTB devoted to him. I can't stress enough how in love I am with his tape - and not just because he's close to putting out a restraining order on me. Mahomes is an unbelievable talent. Sure, he has some downsides. His mechanics can be sloppy, he tries to do too much at times, he doesn't return my calls, he hasn't responded to my offer for a candlelit dinner for two... But here's the thing. When you can throw a ball 60 yards downfield off your backfoot and have it land on the money, I'm not fussed that you threw it off your back foot.

Mahomes doesn't need to 'fix' his mechanics, but rather 'clean them up,' and learn to throw it from the best position given to him on that play - there's no need to show off and throw it off your back foot when you have a clean pocket. Having said that, his skill of being able to make every throw from every position is an invaluable one, because it's so rare in the NFL that you're given a clean pocket to throw. Mahomes has an unbelievable arm, is good on the move, and by all accounts is a good locker-room presence. If he gets the right coaching, he's a first ballot HoF by the time his career is done. If I'm the Browns, I'm ignoring Myles Garrett and taking Patrick Mahomes at #1. He's that good.

Louis Gorini: I would JuJu on the Bolts (young people see what I did there?). JuJu Smith Schuster has become the forgotten wide receiver in this year's draft, and I don't know why. JuJu is a big, physical receiver that can line up anywhere on the field (including the slot). The former Trojan wide receiver runs decent routes and is a gritty pass catcher that isn't afraid to go over the middle to make the catch in traffic. I also love JuJu's toughness as he played through numerous bumps and bruises while remaining a productive big-bodied target for his QB. No, he doesn't have elite speed, but Rivers doesn't have a big arm either which is evident when he routinely underthrows his receivers. The Chargers need another receiver that can run good routes and JuJu is their man. The best part, JuJu can be had with the Chargers 3rd round pick most likely which would give them fantastic value and even better insurance if Keenan Allen can't stay off of IR.

Aaron Woolley: I'm sorry, but I have to go with Christian McCaffrey. Regarding positional fit, this guy is as close to a Sproles and Woodhead type player as you're gonna get. Add that to the fact that most experts say he can carry a full team load, and at a high level. That being said, I don't think the Chargers should be drafting a running back, with Melvin Gordon, Branden Oliver, Andre Williams, and Kenneth Farrow under contract. If Oliver can stay healthy, he can fill the change of pace spot vacated by Woodhead's departure. So, even though I think the backs on the roster are more than capable of being a solid-to-good unit, my offensive draft crush is still McCaffrey. He rushed for 3922 yards and 21 TDs in college and received for 1206 yards and 10 TDs. I think he more than has the capability of being a top 5 scat back in the league, but he's also so much more than that.

Ruben J. Gonzalez: I'll go off the ledge on this one and say go and get me, TE OJ Howard. I know this doesn't quite make sense because the Chargers just drafted Hunter Henry and by the looks of it Coach Lynn is probably gonna have to run off Antonio Gates too since he doesn't know that its time to retire. So get me the big guy from Alabama. Imagine, if you will, for a second, a 2 TE-single back formation. Howard and Henry on each side. Keenan and Tyrell split wide. That would be some firepower for the offense. And Howard is really big, and he can move. I often wondered if Gates and Henry could have brought the success the Patriots had with Gronk and Hernandez, but that has yet to happen. I think bringing in The Juice 2.0 would surpass that production. Did I mention they should trade down a few spots for this tho? Boy, I'd probably be the only one happy if this happened. Rivers probably would too.

Jake Hefner: For me, It's Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey. Whichever team selects him on April 27th, McCaffrey is going to bring a dynamic element to their running game. He is a versatile offensive weapon that runs with toughness and explosion off the snap. Additionally, he can be a pass catching threat on screen formations or slant patterns, providing a team with another weapon to utilize on third downs. His value as a punt and kick returner just adds to his appeal. If there is one player that deserves the "Offensive Weapon" (OW) designation. It's McCaffrey.

Garrett Sisti: A lot these guys are gonna list seven dudes, but I'll answer the question outright: It's G/C Pat Elflein. He was one of the best Guards in the country last year, but because of some injuries on the line the Buckeyes asked him to slide to Center, and he spent all last year there. So while playing a new position, he just so happened to be the best Center in the league and won the Rimington Award. So Elflein isn’t JUST versatile for the sake of playing multiple positions, he does them both at a high level. He's already the best Center in this class, and he's arguably the best Guard as well. Elflein is an athletic "field general" with almost picture perfect technique, and he should be getting more Round 1 buzz in my opinion.

Nathan Graber-Lipperman: McCaffrey for sure. He's athletic, he's talented, and he's the most pro-ready back in the draft. Seeing him and Gordon as a 1-2 punch would be unbelievable, though it'd be tough to judge with the

Jamie Hoyle: I have a couple of offensive crushes, but for this round table I'm going to go with Troy OT Antonio Garcia. He's very rough around the edges and extremely raw, but he has the size, athleticism, length, and nasty demeanor I look for in an offensive lineman. He's the unpolished diamond you draft in the mid rounds, stick in an intensive weight program, and spend a year or two rebuilding his technique from the ground up. With the right schooling, he'll become an anchor at LT for the next ten years. He hasn't even begun to scratch the surface.

Thomas Herd: My offensive crush is G/T Taylor Moton out of Western Michigan. He played right tackle last year after three years at guard, and the former is where I would put him for the Chargers. He's nasty in the run game, has very good upper body strength and good athletic ability. Moton could struggle at the next level on the outside, especially against speed rushers but this would be reduced if they moved him back inside. There's a lot of uncertainty around the Right Guard position going into '17, but Moton is a 'plug-and-play' type of player where you wouldn't have many worries playing him there from the off. I think he'd be a very good second round pick.

Matthew Stanley: My offensive crush is, like Garrett's, a later round guy. I really like Andreas Knappe, OT from UConn. Like my offensive draft crush from last year, Moritz Boehringer, Knappe is a foreigner. Knappe is from Denmark and didn't discover American Football until he was 18. He played for one of the very few teams in Denmark. That play earned him a scholarship offer at UConn and he has been improving every year. He is a touch over 6'8" and weighs 323lbs, but moves with good athleticism for his size. He played RT and moved well in pass protection and showed that he knows how to use his length to help compensate for his occasionally bad footwork that slows him down. He will take some molding, as he is still raw, but after watching his 2015 tape and seeing the improvement in his 2016 tape, you can tell he is very coachable. He's a guy that will probably be there later on day 3 and will be worth a late round pick.

Who is your offensive crush? It can be somebody you hope to see the Chargers draft, or just in general. Let us know.