2018 NFL Mock Draft: Complete first round post NFL Combine
Scouting Report. Defensive Tackle. Alabama. Da'Ron Payne. 17. 13. Pick Analysis. player
Needs: ILB, QB, DL
The Los Angeles Chargers are an NFL franchise in flux. The Chargers have moved from San Diego to L.A. and have a young head football coach named Anthony Lynn. He’s not crosstown rival Sean McVay young, but he’s only 49 years old.
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Lynn has a veteran quarterback in Phillip Rivers who is nearing retirement after a long NFL career. Rivers is going into his 15th season as an NFL quarterback and has started for thirteen of those seasons. The Chargers have a feature back in Melvin Gordon and a star receiver in Keenan Allen. When Rivers took over the quarterback job from Drew Brees, they had an elite defense.
The Chargers are now looking to find the final pieces of the puzzle to get back into the playoffs. They finished the 2017 season 9-7 and are looking to make one final run with Rivers as their quarterback. Da’Ron Payne is the guy to take at number 17.
Payne is a winner from the Alabama Crimson Tide dynasty. He measured 6-foot-2 and 311 pounds. Payne ran a 4.95 in the 40-yard dash which is a sub-5 at over 300 pounds. Payne had 53 tackles, a sack, and even an interception in 2017 for the Tide.