All signs point to the Los Angeles Chargers looking at a weapon or two for Justin Herbert during the upcoming NFL draft.
One of the signs was the Chargers’ sheer unwillingness to do so during NFL free agency. They added to the offensive line with Tyler Biadasz and Cole Strange. But at tight end, Charlie Kolar is more of a blocker. Joe Hortiz and the front office mostly left wideout untouched.
Odd, considering Mike McDaniel is in town as the hyped new offensive coordinator and one would think he wants to get some of his own guys in the door to serve as weapons around Herbert.
Of course, the caveat here is the upcoming NFL draft. The Chargers only have five picks in the order, but the draft visits info that has gone public certainly hints at them keeping an eye on some weapons.
Given the above, one would think the Chargers would be doing work on wideouts.
Instead, this one that leaked public pertains to that tight end spot.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Chargers got one of the last “30” visits with Georgia tight end Oscar Delp.
Delp only had 20 catches for 261 yards and one score last year while averaging 13.1 yards per catch.
Still, Delp is a 6’5” target who blocks well and that still has him ranked as draftable at No. 215 on the Pro Football Focus big board.
It gets better. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein says Delp has “three-down potential” and added this: “Delp is a fluid athlete with the forward lean, short-area quickness and pure speed to beat linebackers on intermediate routes. His soft hands and smooth catch skills show up on the move, though his short arms and inconsistent finish through contact limit his reliability.”
Nobody should have been expecting the Chargers to target tight ends who might come off the board in the first three rounds or so.
Delp, though? He’s a nice developmental prospect with that all-important three-down upside. The Chargers have a breakout star with Oronde Gadsden and a quality No. 2 with Kolar. They’ve been very unhappy with depth pieces like Will Dissly over the last few years and there isn’t much else on the depth chart behind those first two names right now.
Delp getting involved with the Chargers before the draft feels like pretty good news. Even if he’s not the pick, Hortiz and those in charge of crafting a depth chart seem to have the right priorities for certain rounds that will help them properly strengthen the depth chart.
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