Three years later – How would you grade Tom Telesco’s final Chargers draft?
January 15, 2026
Three years later – How would you grade Tom Telesco’s final Chargers draft?
27 comments
Henley feels like the first 3rd round pick hes ever hit on, isnt the 3rd round his classic reach round?
5 contributors out of 7 ain’t bad. Pretty solid class all things considered.
A+ for Tuli and Daiyan alone.
Still crazy how Davis hasn’t worked out as a KR/PR, he had the speed and we saw the vision
B maybe B-
QJ is solid enough
Tuli looks like an edge 1B type player maybe just an edge 1.
Henley is one of the best LBs in the league even with a down season because of that flu that affected him for a bit.
Derius Davis is still a bad use of resources as a returner only player that’s probably going to be competing for his job this offseason.
The rest of the draft is either JAGs or not on the team.
Overall not bad.
5 impactful contributors and 4 starters?
Honestly, this was a really good draft.
Pretty solid draft but it too Harbaughs coaching staff to develop them and if stayley an Telesco were still there’s this draft wouldn’t of panned out as well.
I wouldn’t hyper focus on Max in the 7th round. We were likely looking for a QB3 with potential to QB2. He was always going to sit behind Justin. I don’t think he was below expectations; he didn’t exceed expectations. 7th Rounder are kind of 50/50 on even making the roster regardless.
Would be an A+ if we took Flowers or Addison or if JSN fell one pick to us.
As is, very solid B+
B
B, first three good, rest meh
Tuli and Henley I’m good with where he got them. Matlock is ok at blocking FB, alright where he got him.
Johnston was a huge reach.
C+
Actually probably his best class from top to bottom. 5/7 are still key contributors now. Tuli and Daiyan are studs and will most likely get extended. QJ was not a first round pick, but they’ve at least saved him from being a complete bust while they have him. DD can be explosive as a returner but seems like he lost his speed. Matlock has morphed into a useful weapon on offense.
I give it a B+ or A-. QJ is still in bust territory and Zay was right there. He could have also traded up and landed JSN. Tuli and Henley more than make up for it. Matlock has been solid. The rest are garbage. All in all, setting aside my bias against TT, it’s probably still an A- all things considered.
C for Daiyan and Tuli.
Let’s not forget Zay Flowers was right there and we could have saved 2 years of QJ developing and still being a question mark.
DD was ok but never developed. Hasn’t been the same since the injury and will probably be gone next season.
McFadden was a miss.
Matlock was only saved by Harbaugh. He would have been released under any other coach.
Max Duggan was a waste of a pick.
Classic Telesco draft with decent first 3 rounds and then nothing.
He hits one home run per draft. And a bunch of strikeouts.
I’d give it a B+. 3 great starters in Johnston, Tuipulotu, and Henley who have been getting better each year. Hopefully Davis can return to what he was in his rookie year. Was looking pretty good as a WR late in the ‘24 season too. Matlock has been so so.
idk what it is about 44 but i get so fucking hyped when hes in at FB. hes a beast
On [PFR](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2023/draft.htm) you can sort the draft by players’ weighted value and get an idea of how teams do in the draft in general. We got 4 guys with an AV of 10+ when most teams only get around 2 or 3. All in all a very solid draft and one of Telesco’s best, I’d give it a B+
What the hell happened to McFadden
If you swing enough times you’re bound to hit it
That’s a really good draft class. Contributors.
Tuli and Henley were hits, but the rest not so much. Johnston is a hard one. Is he a hit in the way Tuli and Henley were? Not sure. Matlock is still around but he’s a bubble player and we’d be better served having a pure fullback on the roster. Davis I think should be on his way out
Just don’t look back at the previous few years draft…outside slater and Herbert it’s pretty lean
QJ is Solid
Tuli and Daiyan are amazing, this years Sacks and Tackles Leaders for the team, unreal
I hate Derius Davis tbh, I do not think he is a good return man, I thought he would be like Eddie Royal or DeAndre Carter but not even close, hoping we move to someone else next year
27 comments
Henley feels like the first 3rd round pick hes ever hit on, isnt the 3rd round his classic reach round?
5 contributors out of 7 ain’t bad. Pretty solid class all things considered.
A+ for Tuli and Daiyan alone.
Still crazy how Davis hasn’t worked out as a KR/PR, he had the speed and we saw the vision
B maybe B-
QJ is solid enough
Tuli looks like an edge 1B type player maybe just an edge 1.
Henley is one of the best LBs in the league even with a down season because of that flu that affected him for a bit.
Derius Davis is still a bad use of resources as a returner only player that’s probably going to be competing for his job this offseason.
The rest of the draft is either JAGs or not on the team.
Overall not bad.
5 impactful contributors and 4 starters?
Honestly, this was a really good draft.
Pretty solid draft but it too Harbaughs coaching staff to develop them and if stayley an Telesco were still there’s this draft wouldn’t of panned out as well.
I wouldn’t hyper focus on Max in the 7th round. We were likely looking for a QB3 with potential to QB2. He was always going to sit behind Justin. I don’t think he was below expectations; he didn’t exceed expectations. 7th Rounder are kind of 50/50 on even making the roster regardless.
Would be an A+ if we took Flowers or Addison or if JSN fell one pick to us.
As is, very solid B+
B
B, first three good, rest meh
Tuli and Henley I’m good with where he got them. Matlock is ok at blocking FB, alright where he got him.
Johnston was a huge reach.
C+
Actually probably his best class from top to bottom. 5/7 are still key contributors now. Tuli and Daiyan are studs and will most likely get extended. QJ was not a first round pick, but they’ve at least saved him from being a complete bust while they have him. DD can be explosive as a returner but seems like he lost his speed. Matlock has morphed into a useful weapon on offense.
I give it a B+ or A-. QJ is still in bust territory and Zay was right there. He could have also traded up and landed JSN. Tuli and Henley more than make up for it. Matlock has been solid. The rest are garbage. All in all, setting aside my bias against TT, it’s probably still an A- all things considered.
C for Daiyan and Tuli.
Let’s not forget Zay Flowers was right there and we could have saved 2 years of QJ developing and still being a question mark.
DD was ok but never developed. Hasn’t been the same since the injury and will probably be gone next season.
McFadden was a miss.
Matlock was only saved by Harbaugh. He would have been released under any other coach.
Max Duggan was a waste of a pick.
Classic Telesco draft with decent first 3 rounds and then nothing.
He hits one home run per draft. And a bunch of strikeouts.
I’d give it a B+. 3 great starters in Johnston, Tuipulotu, and Henley who have been getting better each year. Hopefully Davis can return to what he was in his rookie year. Was looking pretty good as a WR late in the ‘24 season too. Matlock has been so so.
idk what it is about 44 but i get so fucking hyped when hes in at FB. hes a beast
On [PFR](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2023/draft.htm) you can sort the draft by players’ weighted value and get an idea of how teams do in the draft in general. We got 4 guys with an AV of 10+ when most teams only get around 2 or 3. All in all a very solid draft and one of Telesco’s best, I’d give it a B+
What the hell happened to McFadden
If you swing enough times you’re bound to hit it
That’s a really good draft class. Contributors.
Tuli and Henley were hits, but the rest not so much. Johnston is a hard one. Is he a hit in the way Tuli and Henley were? Not sure. Matlock is still around but he’s a bubble player and we’d be better served having a pure fullback on the roster. Davis I think should be on his way out
https://i.redd.it/dhzhpjqr1fdg1.gif
Never forget we almost had JSN.
Just don’t look back at the previous few years draft…outside slater and Herbert it’s pretty lean
QJ is Solid
Tuli and Daiyan are amazing, this years Sacks and Tackles Leaders for the team, unreal
I hate Derius Davis tbh, I do not think he is a good return man, I thought he would be like Eddie Royal or DeAndre Carter but not even close, hoping we move to someone else next year
McFadden is on the Bears lol
Matlock got his 5 minutes of fame
and Max Duggan.
We need a real FB and better PR/KR.
I’m over DD and the Matlock experiment.