Los Angeles Chargers have a chance at something special in the draft

The Los Angeles Chargers have the 28th overall selection in the 2019 NFL Draft with the opportunity to create something truly special with the selection.

The Los Angeles Chargers have been one of, if not the, best teams at drafting in the first round in the last four years of the NFL Draft. If Jason Verrett could have stayed healthy, it could have been a great five-year run.

The run starts with Melvin Gordon, who already has two Pro Bowls under his belt and has shown that he is an elite running back and one of the top-five most talented in the league.

Following Gordon was Joey Bosa, the 2016 Defensive Rookie of the Year and one-time Pro Bowler. If you look at Bosa’s numbers over an entire season, he puts together Defensive Player of the Year-like seasons.

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The trend seemed to be broken the following year with Mike Williams, the only of the four picks to not have a Pro Bowl under their belt. However, Williams responded excellently from an injury-prone rookie season and shows signs of being an elite receiver when he hits his prime.

Finally, arguably the best pick of them all, the Chargers selected Derwin James with the 17th overall pick last year. Halfway through the first round, the Chargers landed a safety that is already a Pro Bowler, already an All-Pro and is primed to be the best safety over the next decade.

This year is no different for the Chargers, who can again do something special, this time with the 28th overall pick. It may not seem all that special, as it is a late-round pick, but the Chargers can make the most out of it by selecting Deleware’s Nasir Adderley.

Adderley is someone that has been somewhat tied to the Chargers and would be a perfect fit for the team to replace Jahleel Addae at safety. Adderley might go in the early 20s, depending on the draft, and would have to fall the manner that James did a year ago.

Adderley has not shown conventional safety traits in college with some expecting the league to move him to a defensive back. Adderley has legitimately elite ball hawk skills and has the speed, agility and quickness to stick on nearly any NFL receiver.

Adderley is a threat to anything that goes in the air and that fits in perfectly with this Los Angeles Chargers secondary, although his instincts at safety are what move him back so far in the draft.

What makes this special for the Chargers, though, is the team can run an unconventional defense in which Adderley and Adrian Phillips both take reps as the traditional safety.

Phillips is a natural safety but can play an inside linebacker like role in zone schemes to cover the middle of the field on passing downs. Adderley can play zone as the deep safety in those zones and can drop into man coverage in nickel downs against the opposing team’s slot receiver.

In those instances, Phillips can serve as the anchor in the middle. Derwin James already bounces all around the field, playing man, zone and rushing the quarterback, and will only add to the complexity of this defense.

Fans that watched the AFC Divisional Round watched a Patriots offense that knew exactly how to beat the Chargers and New England practically walked all over them. Adding another Swiss Army Knife-like safety to the defense is going to make it harder to gameplan.

When you come up against the best teams in the league the number one thing to succeed on defense is giving different looks and confusing the offense. Nothing is more confusing than a rotating trio of guys that can legitimately line up anywhere on the field and succeed in any role that the team needs.

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The Los Angeles Chargers could go several different ways with the 28th overall pick but Nasir Adderley would be the most fun to watch.

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