The #10 draft class of 2020 isn’t a big one, but it produced one of the league’s biggest stars which overtakes the lack of picks and remaining class.
Justin Herbert is a top 5 quarterback…when everything is going right. His arm talent is off the charts, but poor coaching and roster building, plus injuries, have put a damper on his career, but there’s no denying his stardom. He was the offensive rookie of the year, signed a massive extension last offseason despite a career 30-32 losing record. A completely new regime in 2024 should hopefully benefit Herbert, I pray. The Chargers can’t afford to waste another year of Herbert’s prime.
Trading their second and third round pick, the Chargers traded back into the first round to select Kenneth Murray. A sideline to sideline playmaker in college, Murray was considered a safe pick in the draft with very high character traits, but it didn’t quite translate to the NFL. Finishing bottom 10 in PFF grade the last three seasons, Murray has started most games he’s played in, and has decent numbers, but just not what you want out of a first-round pick. His fifth-year option got declined so he’s hitting the open market.
Joshua Kelley has been a solid backup running back, but I don’t foresee him being anything more than that the rest of his career. He set a career high 405 rushing yards last year in three starts filling in for Austin Ekeler. Sometimes team’s find a gem in the fourth round at running back, sometimes they’re duds, and sometimes they’re just solid middle of the road depth guys, and that’s what the Chargers got in Kelley the last four seasons.
A player who had been getting more and more playing time with each year is Alohi Gilman. Playing sparingly as a rookie, Gilman made three starts in 2021, then five the next year, then all 14 games he played in in 2023. He finished as the #7 PFF safety last season playing 98% of snaps on a bad Chargers defense. Re-signing him should be cheap as he’s not a well-known name, and should be a high priority for the Chargers to maintain that pairing with Derwin James.
Desperate for wide receiver help they were hoping to find a diamond in the rough with either Joe Reed or K.J. Hill, but neither stuck. Reed doesn’t have a career catch, and spent his second and third seasons on the practice squad. He tried to make the Bears roster in 2023, but missed the season with injury. Hill has 10 career catches, but was not re-signed after joining the practice squad in 2021.
Football Nerds 