Ineptitude and a string of good luck paid off Thursday, when the no-longer-irrelevant Los Angeles Chargers drafted tackle Joe Alt with the fifth overall selection in the NFL Draft.
Big as in 6-foot-8 ½ and 321 pounds, Alt becomes the club’s first draftee under franchise-changing new coach Jim Harbaugh.
Just 21, Alt was nevertheless his draft class’ second-ranked player as judged by Randy Mueller, a former general manager with three NFL franchises.
The former tight end’s fluid knee-bending movements that improve balance and leverage while also reducing back strain, differentiate Alt from most extra-tall tackle prospects, said The Athletic’s Mueller, who also rates the 2023 Notre Dame team captain a culture-builder.
Praised as well for his sound form, the son of former Kansas City Chiefs standout tackle John Alt gives Harbaugh a Grade-A prospect at a position.
Teams that max out their payroll and get 9.5 wins on their futures betting lines almost never end up fifth in a draft, but by losing 12 of 17 games last year, coach Brandon Staley’s final Chargers club created L.A.’s windfall that arrived Thursday night in Detroit.
Giving the Shamrock Chargers and their new coach another gift Thursday, quarterbacks went first, second and third, meaning that after the Cardinals chose receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. at No. 4, Harbaugh and new GM Joe Hortiz had the choice of either their favorite player or the runner-up.
The Chargers employ an above-average left tackle in Rayshawn Slater as the blindside protector to Justin Herbert, 26. The 2021 All-Pro turned 25 next month and can be retained through 2025 with a team option. Having two young tackles of such promise will diversify the play menu of Harbaugh and coordinator Greg Roman although the move to right tackle will require an acclimation period.
Harbaugh’s arrival this winter created instant NFL relevancy for a franchise that last won the AFC West in 2009 and never came close to the Super Bowl in the 11 years under the executive braintrust of John Spanos and Tom Telesco, who hired a trio of inexpensive coaches who’d never been head coaches at any level.
Sounding Off
Giants draftee WR Malik Nabers can be to QB Daniel Jones somewhat like All-Pro WR Tyreek Hill was to QB Tua Tagovailoa — an explosive, varied playmaker who turns around his QB’s career. Call this Hill Lite.
Even so, J.J. McCarthy, chosen 10th by the Vikings of Carlsbad’s Kevin O’Connell, will have a better NFL career than Jones.
• Regarding the night’s shocker: Falcons draftee QB Michael Penix Jr. will benefit from learning behind Kirk Cousins, while also giving Atlanta flexibility downstream at the sport’s most important position.
• Go easy, ESPN and NFL Network draftniks, on the comparisons between Sean Payton-imported QBs Bo Nix and Drew Brees at the same stages of their career. Brees was more impressive in college with Purdue. He often completed more difficult es than Nix, who did a lot of dinking-and-dunking for an Oregon offense that threw laterally at a high rate and also got receivers wide open often on short and medium routes. Brees was the better NFL athlete, as he would show in rushing for 25 career touchdowns.
John Butler selected Brees 32nd in 2001 for San Diego. Payton took Nix 12th. Why didn’t Bree go sooner? Being 6-foot was much more of stigma back then.
Not having a second-round chip — it was dealt for Payton — may have prevented the Broncos from trading down in an attempt to draft Nix later.
• Telesco’s Raiders still need a franchise QB but it’s a reach to blame them for failing to get one of the six QB who went among the top-12. Telesco likely had no shot of trading with the rival Broncos or the Vikings, who chose J.J. McCarthy at No. 10 after rising one spot via a trade with the Jets. Going even higher was unlikely, too.
The consolation prize, TE Brock Bowers, should complement outside receiver Davante Adams as an over-the-middle threat. He won’t turn 22 until December. A high bust rate for first-round TEs bears ing.
• Well done, Jaguars. Trading down six spots for a good haul from the Vikings and getting LSU split end Brian Thomas was a win-win.
• The Bills likely thought a lot less of speedster WR Xavier Worthy than the rival Chiefs did, given that Buffalo traded down four spot with the Chiefs, enabling K.C. to take the 165-pound burner. The last time the Chiefs swung a first-round trade with Buffalo? They got Patrick Mahomes after rising 17 spots. It’s impressive that Worthy, who also sparked the Texas Longhorns as a punt return, commanded the Chiefs’ investment at such a young age. He turns 21 on Saturday.
