The Chargers have picked TE Dedrick Epps with the 235th overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  Epps is a big guy at 6′3″, 250 pounds and he runs a 4.7 40.  Epps has good hands and he is a very willing blocker in the running game so he could be a find for the Chargers in the 7th round.  Epps played in 12 games for the Miami (FL) Hurricanes last season and he caught 19 passes for 247 yards (13.0 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has played in 38 games in his career with the Hurricanes and he caught 49 passes for 634 yards (12.9 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  This was a good guy to take a chance on this late in the draft for the Chargers.

The Chargers have picked QB Jonathan Crompton with the 168th overall pick (5th round) of the NFL Draft.  Crompton has nice size at 6′3″, 222 pounds but he’s not much of a threat to take off running out of the pocket as he is slow (5.0 40).  Despite being slow though Crompton still has enough mobility to buy himself time in the pocket.  He has a good arm but he’s a little short on experience as last season was his only one as a starting QB from start to finish.  He played in 13 games for the Tennessee Volunteers last season and he completed 224 of 384 passes (58.3%) for 2,800 yards with 27 TD passes and 13 INTs.  He played in 35 games in his career in Tennessee and he completed 348 of 629 passes (55.3%) for 4,187 yards with 36 TD grabs and 22 INTs.  Crompton is a good prospect who the Chargers can take their time in developing due to having Philip Rivers and Billy Volek ahead of him on the depth chart.

The Chargers have picked DT Cam Thomas out of North Carolina with the 146th overall pick (5th round) of the NFL Draft.  Thomas is a huge man at 6′3″, 331 pounds and he’s a solid athlete for a man his size.  Cam Thomas is a classic bull rusher/run defender and that is just what the doctor ordered for the Chargers’ D.  Thomas played in 12 games (all starts) for the Tar Heels in which he had 23 tackles and 2.5 tackles for a loss.  He played in 44 games (28 starts) in his four years at North Carolina in which he finished up with 83 tackles, 9 tackles for a loss, he had 3.5 sacks and he forced 1 fumble.  Thomas will keep the Chargers’ linebackers clean as he will demand a double team a lot.  He was projected by many draft “experts” to be picked in the 2nd or 3rd round so the Chargers got excellent value with this pick.

The Chargers have picked safety Darrell Stuckey with the 110th overall pick (4th round) of the NFL Draft.  Stuckey is 5′11″, 200 pounds and he runs a 4.55 40.  Stuckey is not a physical player despite his size but he is a decent coverage safety.  He is definitely more of a free safety because he doesn’t have the stones to defend against the run.  He played in 12 games (all starts) at Kansas last season and he finished up with 93 tackles, he broke up 2 passes, had 1 interception and he forced 1 fumble.  Stuckey played in 45 games (42 starts) in college and he finished up with 295 tackles, he broke up 18 passes, had 8 interceptions, 1 forced fumble and he recovered 1 fumble.  He might develop into a starting safety down the road if he toughens up a bit but his main job at least in his rookie season will be helping out on special teams.

The Chargers have picked linebacker Donald Butler with the 79th overall pick (3rd round) of the NFL Draft.  Butler is a big guy at 6′1″, 244 pounds and he can play either outside or inside doing whatever the Chargers need him to.  Butler played in 12 games (all starts) for Washington last season and he finished up with 94 tackles, 15.5 tackles for a loss, he had 1 sack, broke up 2 passes and he intercepted 2 passes.  In his four years in college, Butler played in 43 games (27 starts) in which he made 239 tackles, 27 tackles for a loss, he had 3 sacks, broke up 5 passes and he had 2 interceptions.  This was a excellent pick for the Chargers as Butler can play either inside or outside and he will be a special teams ace from day #1.

UPDATE:  (8/31/2010) - The Chargers have placed Donald Butler on I.R. with a torn Achilles tendon.