The deck has been reshuffled somewhat as most of the 2016 class of NFL hopefuls showed their abilities at the 2016 NFL Combine. The first two selections in the NFL Draft have been largely decided, as Laremy Tunsil should be the first player off the board to the Tennessee Titans and the Cleveland Browns will most likely take Carson Wentz or Jared Goff.
Then we get to the San Diego Chargers, who are currently projected to take offensive lineman Ronnie Stanley - or at least they were. Now the Chargers are projected to select Jalen Ramsey after his insane athletic showing at the Combine. Ramsey is easily the best defensive back heading into this draft and would make an awesome complement to Chargers cornerback Jason Verrett.
With Eric Weddle gone, the Chargers will need to replace him the best way they can, and the only way to do that is to utilize their third overall pick on Ramsey. San Diego will not fix its offensive or defensive line with one pick; however it could solidify the secondary with Ramsey. It also makes little sense to select an offensive lineman right now, as Philip Rivers has been successful without a solid O-line and he is potentially in one of the last years he will be playing in the NFL.
This means if anything, the Chargers are in win-now mode and are going to continue to try to mask their deficiencies with free agents and draft picks. If they commit to getting one of the best players overall in the draft in the first round, then they can look to bolster their defensive line in the second round. The 2016 NFL Draft class should be pretty deep with defensive linemen so they could see a quality selection in the second round.
The Chargers will also be looking at wide receivers and offensive linemen through the 2016 Draft/free agent period, so they're likely they look to improve this roster in all phases of the offseason. The key to improving this San Diego defensive unit would be to immediately replace Eric Weddle and build from there. The Chargers will have $32 million in cap space, so they could look to add some pieces to this offensive line as they will need to have better run blocking if they want Melvin Gordon to be successful.
