CHARGERS: First day of draft unlikely to be busy

Barring trade, Bolts will make just one pick on first day of draft

By MIKE SULLIVAN - Staff Writer | Saturday, April 26, 2008 5:51 PM PDT ∞

SAN DIEGO ---- A.J. Smith terms this year's NFL draft as a "light year" for the Chargers. Still, the draft-loving general manger hopes to walk away with a heavy collection of talent.

The Chargers have just five selections in this weekend's two-day NFL draft and, barring any draft-day trades, the Chargers will pick in the first round and not again until the fifth.

Owners of the 27th overall selection, the Chargers are most likely to target an offensive tackle or cornerback. Boston College's Gosder Cherilus could be available, as could cornerbacks Antoine Cason (Arizona) and Brandon Flowers (Virginia Tech). North Carolina defensive tackle Kentwan Balmer also could be on the Chargers' radar.

Of course, there are no guarantees it will be the Chargers who utilize the 27th pick. Scenarios in which they move down in the draft and acquire an extra pick have been discussed.

Whether a trade comes to fruition is something to be answered during Saturday's first round. As Smith recently pointed out, the overwhelming majority of trade talks lead nowhere.

"Ninety percent of the conversations do not materialize," Smith said. "The general parameters discussed just never really get anywhere for both parties. But you try. Everyone is posturing to get players ---- to better their positions, to get multiple picks, or make up for the loss of picks."

The Chargers would like to add a pick after trading away this year's second- and- third-round selections and using their fourth-round choice in last summer's supplemental draft on cornerback Paul Oliver.

The second-round pick was sent to Miami to acquire receiver Chris Chambers, and the third went to Chicago as part of the package to obtain the pick used on Eric Weddle in last April's draft.

"It came at a cost ---- a 2, a 3 and a 4," Smith said of the moves. "Now that I look at it, in hindsight, I would do it again because I'm looking at Chambers, I'm looking at Weddle and I'm looking at Oliver, a young developmental guy that people do not know anything about because he was inactive and didn't play, but we like a lot."

Smith said he will put up the football cards of Chambers, Weddle and Oliver in the respective rounds of the Chargers' draft board. Then he'll focus on identifying players who can help a team that played in last season's AFC Championship Game.

The Chargers have two fifth-round picks, one sixth and one seventh to go with their first-round pick. Smith, assistant GM Buddy Nix and coach Norv Turner were finalizing the team's draft board on Friday.

The focus on offensive line help stems from the offseason release of former starting tackle Shane Olivea. Finding a productive third corner is desired after Drayton Florence left as a free agent.

A backup running back is coveted after valuable backup Michael Turner departed as a free agent. Defensive tackle is a minor need because of the mileage on Jamal Williams' often nicked-up body.

Then again, who says the Chargers won't just simply pick the best available player when it's their turn to draft?

"People are looking at the players we lost in free agency ---- Drayton Florence, Michael Turner ---- and we released Shane Olivea, so there are places there," Turner said. "But I think the great thing that the Chargers have done in the draft over the last four or five years is not getting so zeroed in on needs that they've taken the best players and good football players who can contribute, because you never know when they're going to get an opportunity to play."

If the Chargers were to move down into the second round, offensive tackles such as USC's Sam Baker and Kansas' Anthony Collins and Texas running back Jamaal Charles could be in range. With inside linebacker Stephen Cooper facing a four-game September suspension for a positive drug test, taking the best player available route could mean an inside linebacker such as Tennessee's Jerod Mayo or Oklahoma's Curtis Lofton.

The mystery will be unveiled Saturday, likely about four hours into the draft. But there's one thing Smith knows for certain ---- the more good picks he makes, the better his team becomes.

"You're not going to be 100 percent," Smith said. "Every plan we have, we will not execute it 100 percent. We will try to, but it will not happen and it will never happen. However, if the things we're trying to do around here are at a high percentage, then I'm quite sure that it probably means that we're successful.

"If you're shooting 50 percent or below all the time in your player acquisitions and in everything you do, you're probably spinning your wheels. You're probably not getting anywhere. You're probably not a playoff-caliber team each and every year."

Note

The Chargers claimed QB Casey Bramlet, 27, off waivers from Miami on Friday. Bramlet was Cincinnati's seventh-round pick in 2004. The former Wyoming quarterback, who was with both Atlanta and Miami during the 2007 season, has never played in an NFL regular-season game.

Contact staff writer Mike Sullivan at (760) 739-6645 or msullivan@nctimes.com.

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