The Chargers kept their draft intentions under wraps last year, which led to some surprised reactions when they selected defensive end Joey Bosa with the third overall pick of the draft.
They have another high pick this year — No. 7 overall — and a variety of directions they could take when they are up in the first round. During an appearance on NFL Network with Andrew Siciliano, General Manager Tom Telesco wasn’t any more forthcoming about the team’s plans for that pick and didn’t rule out the possibility that the team could address the need to replace Philip Rivers at quarterback one day.
We’re very happy with Philip Rivers, and I think he’s got a number of good years left in him,” Telesco said. “We can win with Philip, and we’re happy with him. But since I’ve arrived here, we’ve always done a lot of work on the quarterbacks. You just have to. Even though we have our franchise quarterback, we always have to be looking toward the future. It’s work we’ve done every year. We’ll do work on all the quarterbacks. You never say never, you just never know in this business. We have to be prepared, whether we’re picking at No. 7 or if we trade back, it’s just hard to tell right now.”
The Chargers may have a few too many acute needs to address quarterback with their top pick, but the right mix of prospect and spot in the draft could bring Rivers’ potential successor to Los Angeles.