Chargers Draft: Was The Mike Williams Pick a Mistake for LA?

Instead of selecting the seemingly inevitable safety in the first round, the Los Angeles Chargers draft took a different route with Mike Williams.

In 2017, with the 7th pick of a very unusual Chargers draft, the Los Angeles Chargers selected Mike Williams- wide receiver out of Clemson. This move left many viewers scratching their heads; for a team that needs a lot of help on defense, the decision to pick a wide receiver didn’t make much sense.

With many of the draft’s best defensive players still on the table, it left many asking if the Chargers made a bad pick or at least one that wouldn’t help the offense. The Chargers, however, made a great choice and drafted a soon-to-be-star.

The Chargers added a monster player to their offense with Williams and although it wasn’t the pick that filled their greatest needs, it was a very smart decision. They realized that the three receivers taken in this first round – Davis, Williams, and Ross – were a tier above the rest.

Williams was at the top of many analysts receiver rankings- viewed by many as a player that could be drafted somewhere and be the team’s lead receiver. He is a special talent that has a prototypical build for a receiver and showed great speed and athletic ability as he received for 1,361 yards in his senior year at Clemson.

With a draft that is particularly weak offensively, Williams was a steal after he got past the Titans with the 5th and made it to the Chargers at 7.

With the severe injuries faced last season, the Chargers needed to focus some offensive depth. While Keenan Allen is a fantastic receiver, he has made 9 starts over the past 2 seasons so drafting a security blanket only made sense for LA to do.

Now, with an offense that includes so many young weapons for Rivers, such as Hunter Henry, Keenan Allen, Tyrell Williams, and Mike Williams; they can be competitors in a very tough AFC West.

When you throw Melvin Gordon into the mix, it is easy to see that they have solidified a strong young core for themselves that will last them years to come and help a new quarterback along when Rivers retires.

The biggest complaint with this pick would be that of all of the Chargers needs, wide receiver probably doesn’t even come close to the multitude of other needs the team has- most specifically on defense.

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With such a strong defensive class, this seemed like the perfect chance for them to take a good player to improve their secondary or front seven. However, the defensive strength of this class is most likely why the Chargers took a wide receiver in round one.

Now that the first round has concluded, the Chargers are looking at the chance to get some big names in the second and third round. DE Malik McDowell and S Budda Baker could be possible that the Chargers make in round two and names like CB Sydney Jones, who may be one of the best corners in this draft whose stock fell due to injury, might be available in round three.

A strong defense isn’t made up of one star player from the first round- it is 11 good players who work well as a team and with many picks still to come in the 2017 NFL draft, the Chargers have a chance to draft some solid players to work with Joey Bosa.

To win in the AFC West, the Chargers will have to have an offense that will have the firepower to beat the strong defenses of the Broncos and Chiefs which the Williams pick gives them.

The players remaining in the draft have a chance to give them a defense that’s competitive and while they may not be drafting the ’85 Bears this year, they have the opportunity to use the rest of this strong draft to make major positional improvements.

Next: Grading the Chargers Selection of Mike Williams

The 2017-18 season is looking good after the first round of this Chargers draft. In their first year back in LA and it all starts with the exciting receiver trio of Tyrell Williams, Keenan Allen, and Mike Williams.

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