The San Diego Chargers hope for improvement in 2012 and beyond from their 2011 rookie class.  Here is a look at how well the 2011 rookie class did in their first taste of NFL action:

21-year old DE Corey Liuget was the Chargers’ first round pick last April.  He played in 15 games for the Chargers last year and he had 19 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 2 passes defensed.  He will likely be a starter for the Chargers in the near future.

23-year old CB Marcus Gilchrist was a 2nd round pick for the Chargers last April.  He played in 14 games for the Chargers last year and he had 34 tackles, 2 interceptions and 4 passes defensed.  Like Liuget, Gilchrist will likely be a starter in the near future for the Chargers.

23-year old LB James Mouton was picked in the 2nd round last April.  He missed his whole rookie season due to a shoulder injury.

22-year old WR Vincent Brown was a 3rd round pick last April.  He played in 14 games for the Chargers and he caught 19 passes for 329 yards (17.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Brown has a nice upside and his role should increase in 2012 and beyond.

24-year old CB Shareece Wright was also a 3rd round pick for the Chargers.  He played in 7 games and he had 4 tackles.

21-year old Jordan Todman was a sixth round pick for the Chargers.  He was cut early in the season and he was picked up by the Vikings, but, he didn’t get into any games for them.

23-year old OG Steve Schilling was a sixth round pick for the Chargers.  He played in 9 games (2 starts) as a rookie last year.  Schilling showed enough to get a chance for more P.T. in 2012.

23-year old LB Andrew Gachkar was picked in the 7th round for the Chargers.  He played in all 16 games and he had 15 tackles.  Look for Gachkar to get more P.T. as his career goes on.

GRADE FOR 2011:  C-

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B

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.

The San Diego Chargers picked 24-year old cornerback CB Shareece Wright out of USC with the 89th overall pick (3rd round) of the NFL Draft.  Wright is 5’11″, 182 pounds and he runs a 4.5 40.  Wright is good in run support and he’s solid when the plays are in front of him.  When the ball goes over his head though, it’s usually bad news for his team.  Wright played in 13 games (all starts) for USC last season and he had 73 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, he forced 2 fumbles and he recovered 2 fumbles.  Wright played in 40 games (17 starts) in his five years with the Trojans and he had 127 tackles, broke up 14 passes, 1 interception, 2 forced fumbles and he recovered 3 fumbles.  Wright seems like another reach for need by the Chargers.

The San Diego Chargers didn’t have to look far for this pick as 22-year old WR Vincent Brown played his college ball at San Diego State.  He was picked with the 82nd overall pick (3rd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Brown is 5’11″, 184 pounds and he runs a 4.5 40.  Brown isn’t the tall type of receiver that the Chargers like but he’s very aggressive going up for the ball when it’s in the air, so he should fit right in.  Brown played in 13 games (12 starts) for San Diego State last season and he had 69 grabs for 1,352 yards (19.6 avg) with 10 TD grabs.  He played in 44 games (39 starts) in his four years with the Aztecs and he caught 209 passes for 3,110 yards (14.9 avg) with 23 TD grabs.  The Chargers have likely been watching Brown for years.  I like this pick for the Chargers.

The San Diego Chargers have taken 23-year old OLB Jonas Mouton out of Michigan with the 61st overall pick (2nd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Mouton is on the small side at 6’2″, 226 pounds and he runs a 4.7 40.  The problem with Mouton is that he’s too small to deal with offensive lineman when they are coming at him.  His speed should be an asset when he blitzes though.  Mouton played in 10 games (9 starts) for Michigan last year and he had 59 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, 1/2 a sack and 1 interception.  Mouton played in 44 games (42 starts) in his four years with the Wolverines and he had 341 tackles, 26 tackles for a loss, 5 sacks, he broke up 9 passes and he had 6 interceptions.  This looks like another reach for Chargers’ GM A.J. Smith.

UPDATE:  (9/21/2011) – The Chargers have placed Jonas Mouton on the Injured Reserve List ending his season due to a shoulder injury.  He didn’t get into a game in his first two weeks with the Chargers.

The San Diego Chargers picked 22-year old cornerback Marcus Gilchrist out of Clemson with the 50th overall pick (2nd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Gilchrist is 5’9″, 193 pounds and he runs a 4.5 40.  Gilchrist is a good cover man but he doesn’t have much hands wise as he’s not a playmaker.  Gilchrist played in 13 games (all starts) for Clemson last year and he had 66 tackles, broke up 10 passes and he had 1 interception.  Gilchrist also returned 27 kickoffs for 639 yards (23.7 avg) and 23 punts for 233 yards (10.1 avg) last year. He played in 53 games (28 starts) in his four years with the Tigers and he had 211 tackles, 19 passes broken up, 1 interception, forced 3 fumbles and he recovered 2 fumbles.  Gilchrist will likely help out the Chargers on both defense and special teams, but he was still a reach pick as almost no one had him going this high.

The Chargers didn’t fill an obvious need in the first round by picking 21-year old DT Corey Liuget out of Illinois with the 18th overall pick of the first round of the NFL Draft last night.  But, Liuget might have well be the highest player rated on their board and if that’s the case, this was a good pick.  Liuget is 6’3″, 300 pounds…so he’s not moving to DE.  Liuget played in 13 games (all starts) for Illinois last year and he had 63 tackles, 12.5 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks and he batted down three passes.  He played in 36 games (19 starts) overall for the Illini and he had 125 tackles, 25.5 tackles for a loss, 8.5 sacks, 7 batted passes, 2 forced fumbles and he recovered 3 fumbles.  This could look like an outstanding pick down the road for the Chargers, but for now, I’m a little surprised by it.