The Chargers had four more picks in the NFL Draft on Saturday. They made those then signed 15 undrafted free agents. After going with two straight offensive linemen on Friday the Bolts went with two straight defensive backs to start off Saturday.
In the 4th round they selected Rayshawn Jenkins, a safety from Miami, and followed that with Desmond King, another safety from Iowa in the 5th round. Jenkins is seen as that “enforcer” type of safety that you have to have in a Gus Bradley defense while King is a guy the Chargers say can play corner, nickel or safety.
They finished up with two large humans. Sam Tevi, an offensive lineman from Utah, was their 6th round pick and in the 7th round they grabbed Notre Dame defensive tackle Isaac Rochell. Tevi was primarily a tackle in college and Rochell is not an accomplished pass rusher but was good against the run in South Bend.
Then came the part that NFL scouts really like: signing free agents that went undrafted. The Chargers agreed with 15 rookies who did not hear their names called during the 3-day NFL Draft extravaganza. That list, with brief descriptions:
TE Sean Culkin, Missouri – 6-foot-6 and 245-pounds, he is a blocking tight end who only scored twice in his Tigers career.
C Dillon Deboer, Florida Atlantic - Played guard, center and tackle at FAU. That either means he’s versatile or not good enough to stick at any of them.
CB Michael Davis, BYU – Big guy but not terribly productive. Started seven and had 23 tackles last year.
RB Austin Ekeler, Western State – Western State is a Division II school in Colorado. Ekeler is the only running back the Chargers are adding this year. At 5-foot-9 and 199 pounds Ekeler is a burner with his 4.43 speed.
LB Nigel Harris, South Florida – Physical and tough but he’s just a shade over 200 pounds so Harris might be a candidate to switch to safety.
QB Eli Jenkins, Jacksonville State – If you like 2-way quarterbacks this is your guy. As a senior Jenkins threw for 2,107 yards and 11 touchdowns and ran for 984 yards and 13 touchdowns. Jenkins won back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year awards, the first player to do that since TV analyst Tony Romo.
K Younghoe Koo, Georgia Southern – Josh Lambo has competition. Koo, who was born in South Korea and raised in New Jersey, hit on 19 of his 20 tries and was a Lou Groza Award finalist. Plus he has not been seen laughing when leaving the field after his special teams unit blew a game in Oakland.
LB Charmeachealle “Mike” Moore, Kansas State – Hard not to root for this kid. In 2014 he had a tumor removed from the base of his brain after the first game of the year. He returned in limited duty in 2015 then finished his career with 16 consecutive starts. As a senior Moore had 75 tackles and three fumble recoveries. His teammates call him “Uncle Mike” because of his leadership on and off the field.
LB James Onwualu, Notre Dame – Tom Telesco loves his Fighting Irish. Along with Rochell, Onwualu was Notre Dame’s defensive captain for 2016.
WR Andre Patton, Rutgers – Another big guy who is not terribly productive. Finished his entire Rutgers career with fewer catches, yards and TD than 1st round pick Mike Williams had in 2016.
WR Artavis Scott, Clemson – Speaking of Clemson receivers, it was Scott who stepped up when Williams broke his neck in 2015, catching 93 passes for 901 yards and six touchdowns.
CB Brandon Stewart, Kansas – Only appeared in 22 games for the Jayhawks and weighs just 171 pounds, awfully small by NFL standards.
CB Brad Watson, Wake Forest – Had four interceptions in 49 career games for the Demon Deacons.
WR Dontre Wilson, Ohio State – Very likely signed on as a returner. Wilson has 1,280 kickoff return yards, 5th-most in Buckeye history.
T Mason Zandi, South Carolina – One of the biggest people ever. Zandi is a 6-foot-9, 315-pound monster that started every game at left tackle as a senior last season.
