The Chargers looked to the defensive side of the ball in last April’s NFL Draft.  DE Corey Liuget fell to the Chargers at #18 in the first round and they couldn’t resist taking him.  Liuget is a big run stuffing lineman who played tackle in college.  CB Marcus Gilchrist and ILB Jonas Mouton could add some more punch to the D.  Gilchrist is also a good return man and that was a huge factor in why the Chargers picked him in the second round.  WR Vincent Brown and RB Jordan Todman give Philip Rivers a couple of more weapons to use on offense.

PROJECTED GRADE:  B

The San Diego Chargers drafted outside linebacker Andrew Gachkar out of Missouri with the 234th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Gachkar is 6’2″, 233 pounds and he runs a 4.6 40.  Gachkar is a good athlete as he can make plays when he doesn’t run into a lot of traffic.  But, he doesn’t have the take on strength to handle the huge linemen of the NFL.  He had 84 tackles, 8.5 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 2 interceptions last year for Missouri.  In his four years with the Tigers, Gachkar had 208 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss, 4 sacks, 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble and he recovered 3 fumbles.  Gachkar’s best chance to stick with the Chargers is going to come on special teams.

The Chargers drafted G/T Steve Schilling out of Michigan with the 201st overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Schilling is 6’4″, 308 pounds and he runs a 5.22 40.  Did the Chargers watch Schilling play in college?  He always seemed to be on the ground as he is softer than a roll of Charmin.  I will be shocked if he’s on the Chargers by the time they draft next April.  He played in 49 games (all starts) in his four years at Michigan and you see how well that offense did.  I have the feeling this is going to turn out to be a wasted pick.

The San Diego Chargers took 21-year old RB Jordan Todman out of Connecticut with the 183rd overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Todman is only 5’9″, 195 pounds but he runs a 4.4 40.  Todman is a outside runner and he has the speed to get to the corner.  Todman might also be able to help out as a return man for the Chargers.  He has some work to do in the blocking and receiving games though.  Todman played in 12 games (all starts) for the Chargers last year and he carried the ball 334 times for 1,695 yards (5.1 ypc) with 14 TD runs.  He also caught 19 passes for 94 yards (4.9 avg) last year.  Todman played in 37 games (19 starts) in his three years with the Huskies and he carried the ball 616 times for 3,179 yards (5.2 ypc) with 31 TD runs.  He has also caught 42 passes for 283 yards (6.7 avg) at UConn.