San Diego Chargers

It was a great "regular season" for the Charges, but since that has become the norm for coach Marty Schottenheimer, the Chargers decided to go in another direction. After Marty led the Chargers to their best regular season ever, and coached LaDainian Tomlinson to quite possible the most amazing year for a running back ever, Cam Cameron (OC), Wade Phillips (DC) and Marty himself will all be gone in 2007. Wade and Cam will be head coaches, Cowboys and Dolphins, while Marty will be doing, well Marty things. As for the year, Phillip Rivers played very well in his first 12 games, but struggled down the stretch. All in all, he looked very good in his first season. LT speaks for himself, an MVP, record TD holder, and all around stud. Vincent Jackson came on at the end of the season, taking over the #1 spot at receiver, allowing the Chargers to let Keenan McCardell go and rebuild at that spot, with Jackson leading the way. Antonio Gates had another super season, finishing as the top TE in the league. The Chargers defense was amazing, led by next years' defensive MVP front runner, Shawne Merriman. Young kid is a beast, and gets in zones where he's absolutely unblockable. But after a super year all around, the young Charger nucleus will have a new coaching staff, led by Norv Turner.

Recent Records:

2004: 12-4 2005: 9-7 2006: 14-2

Off-Season Plans:

Most notably, the Chargers have replaced both coordinators and their head coach, with a new staff led by Norv Turner. Should be interesting to see how this young group of loyal players reacts to Tuner's offensive knowledge and calm coaching style. Like I said above, Keenan McCardell has been let go. Recently, Michael Turner is getting attention from a couple teams, meaning the Chargers could definitely add some more draft picks for an already stacked young Charger squad. Donnie Edwards has finally moved on, and Terrence Kiel is also searching for a new team. Singing Kris Dielman to a new contract was a huge deal for a Chargers team that relies heavily on the run. The last thing they wanted was a Steve Hutchinson situation. Luckily for them Deilman turned down less money from the Seahawks to stay in Southern California. In fact, the Chargers haven't signed any new players in free agency, as they seem very happy resigning their own players, as the group of youngsters in San Diego has done them well. The Chargers will be looking to add depth at many positions in the draft, most notably in the secondary, and offensively at receiver, and possibly a solid back up rusher later on day 1, or quite possibly the first couple rounds of day 2. The draft should bet SD some solid playmakers, as they have the talent to select the best player on their board throughout the weekend. The Chargers pick as well as any team in the league, so expect them to make the most of their chances. I have the Chargers taking Steve Smith in Round 1, and that's mainly because A- I think Smith will be a very solid pro, and B- The Chargers make smart picks. They could go secondary first and wait and see if Smith will last, but I'm not sure he'll last that long.

See the CHARGERS draft situation at Lucky's Mock Draft!