Los Angeles Chargers mock draft 1.0: Drafting for need

The 2016 NFL season is winding down to the end, so that can only mean one thing: Mock draft season! This will be the beginning of a long series of mock drafts for the Los Angeles Chargers.

All of the mock drafts will be performed on Fanspeak’s “On The Clock” feature, where fans can act as their favorite team’s GM and make each draft pick. The following draft strategy focused on addressing the Chargers’ biggest areas of need in each round.

ROUND 1, PICK 7: MALIK HOOKER, S, OHIO STATE

With the hiring of Gus Bradley as defensive coordinator, the Los Angeles Chargers are most likely switching to a 4-3 defense. The need for a free safety with excellent range is extremely important in Bradley’s Cover 3 scheme. This is where Malik Hooker comes into play.

Hooker has superb range and is a turnover machine. It is easy to look up his stats with Ohio State for this past year and be in awe of his production (74 total tackles, seven interceptions and three touchdowns). However, those numbers are just the tip of the iceberg for Hooker. Matt Miller of Bleacher Report just came out with a report that stated Ohio State tracked Hooker’s interceptions while he was a member of the scout team his freshman year. Hooker amassed a whopping 40 interceptions during his redshirt season with the Buckeyes.

Not only does Hooker have tremendous range, but he also displays tremendous awareness/knowledge of the game. The former Buckeye safety is a real threat to score whenever he gets the ball in his hands. His ball-hawking abilities are the reason why scouts are comparing Hooker to the great Ed Reed.

So for the fans who were pounding the table for Jalen Ramsey last year and were upset, they can now rest assure; the Chargers finally got the heir apparent to Eric Weddle.

Dec 3, 2016; Bowling Green, KY, USA; Western Kentucky Hilltoppers offensive lineman Forrest Lamp (76) celebrates his teams victory following the CUSA championship game against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium. Western Kentucky won 58-44. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

ROUND 2, PICK 38: FORREST LAMP, OT/G, WESTERN KENTUCKY

If safety is the No. 1 need for Los Angeles, then offensive line is 1b for the Chargers. There are no blue-chip offensive linemen that are worth the No. 7 overall pick in this year’s draft, so the Chargers are going to have to look in Round 2 to address their line needs.

The pick here is offensive tackle Forrest Lamp out of Western Kentucky. Lamp played at an elite level in college as the Hilltoppers’ left tackle. While most offensive tackles gave up pressures on 3.8 percent of passing plays last year, Lamp only allowed pressures on 1 percent of passing downs. And even though he played at a smaller school, Lamp played some of his best ball against the big boys of college football (Alabama and LSU).

Due to his short arms, scouts have projected Lamp as a guard in the NFL. His athleticism and sound technique have experts comparing  Lamp to Dallas Cowboys guard Zack Martin. Most likely, Los Angeles is going to part ways with either Orlando Franklin or D.J. Fluker in the offseason in order to save money. The addition of Lamp will add some athleticism and improved pass protection to an underwhelming offensive line.

ROUND 3, PICK 71: JULIE’N DAVENPORT, OT, BUCKNELL

The Chargers’ offensive line was so bad this year that they might be forced to double-dip on back-to-back selections to address this need, especially if the Bolts decide to walk away from injury-prone left tackle King Dunlap. Julie’n Davenport is an intriguing prospect. He has the ideal measurables you want from an offensive tackle (6-7, 310 lbs., 36-inch long arms, 10 1/2-inch hands) and a strong history of success, granted he played for a small school.

Davenport started 44 games for Bucknell at left tackle, while earning all-conference honors in each of those years. His teammates voted him team captain two times during his college career. The former Bison has a great frame to add muscle on, and his basketball background shows that he is athletic enough to handle the speed of edge rushers.

The knock on Davenport could be the level of talent he faced in college. However, Davenport seemed to put the scouts’ concerns at ease this past week, as he was one of the best offensive lineman during Senior Bowl practices and the Senior Bowl itself. He is extremely raw and might need time adjusting to the speed of NFL defenses. But with the success of other small-school offensive linemen in the pros, there is no reason to believe that Davenport cannot succeed sooner than later for the Los Angeles Chargers

Nov 5, 2016; Berkeley, CA, USA; California Golden Bears quarterback Davis Webb (7) calls to teammates before a play against the Washington Huskies during the first quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

ROUND 4, PICK 111: DAVIS WEBB, QB, CALIFORNIA

The time to find Philip Rivers’ replacement is now. Davis Webb is an intriguing prospect. He is bigger, stronger and has a better arm than his predecessor Jared Goff.

Webb shined this past week at the Senior Bowl, completing 11 of 16 passes for 165 yards and one touchdown. He also displayed great leadership skills as he led the South to all three scoring drives. It is easy to see why he was named the Senior Bowl’s MVP. With his physical gifts and leadership qualities, Webb would be a perfect prospect for the Chargers to groom for a year or two behind the tutelage of Rivers.

To finish up the draft, the Chargers take some raw prospects that they can develop into quality backups in areas of need. Los Angeles lacks depth at both the edge and wide receiver positions due to some misses in free agency and previous drafts. The Chargers will likely part ways with Stevie Johnson because of his injury history, and Dontrelle Inman is a free agent.

Malachi Dupre has an excellent combination of size (6-4, 195 lbs.) and speed but is limited as a route-runner. This would be an ideal situation for the Chargers to develop the former LSU Tiger, who was unable to display great production in college because of the offensive limits the team had.

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Outside Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram, Los Angeles did not have any other edge rushers that could come in and disrupt an opponents’ backfield. Former second-round pick Jeremiah Attaochu showed up out of shape and was ineffective when he was on the field. The same could be said for Tourek WIlliams and Kyle Emmanuel. The Chargers need some extra juice from the edge position, and that is where Tyus Bowser could come in.

In his senior season, Bowser led Houston with 8.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss in merely eight games. Bowser can be that situational pass-rusher who could come in off the bench to provide the Chargers an extra spark on third downs.

This is a draft strategy where the Los Angeles Chargers draft for need. So we need to hear it from the fans. If the Chargers implemented this strategy, would fans be happy? What grade would you give the Chargers if they made these selections? Let’s hear some feedback from some Chargers fans!