2018 NFL Mock Draft: Complete first round after pro days, trades

Needs: ILB, QB, DL

The Chargers will eventually need to draft a replacement for Phillip Rivers. Rivers, like Eli Manning, is entering the twilight of his career. The Chargers have been able to rely on him to start all sixteen regular season games since 2006. That’s quite miraculous given the pounding of the NFL season and his multiple playoff runs.

That said, Rivers’ replacement will have to be drafted either this year or next. The Chargers, however, need to draft defensive linemen and an inside linebacker. Luckily, Leighton Vander Esch has climbed draft boards since the Combine and pro days.

Vander Esch, the former Boise State Broncos inside linebacker, is 6-foot-4 and 256 pounds and can still run a 4.65 in the 40 yard dash. Vander Esch also recorded a 39.5 inch vertical jump and 124 inch broad jump which puts him up there with 200 pound running backs in the explosiveness category. He finished 2017 as the Mountain West defensive player of the year. He’s the perfect fit in the Chargers athletic defense alongside a star in the making in Joey Bosa.