WCG Staff Mock Draft - Round 1, Pick 18

by Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. on Apr 19, 2011 4:30 PM CDT in WCG Staff Mock Draft

We're over half way through our staff mock draft and so far no big surprises. We've had a few mock drafters comment that they would rather trade down from their picks than make a selection, and come draft day, there's a good chance that those teams would do that. Those WCG writers are smart bunch. Next up is Steve Ronkowski and...

With the 18th pick in the Windy City Gridiron Staff Mock Draft, the San Diego Chargers take...

Akeem Ayers, OLB, UCLA - And here's what Steve had to say about his choice:

The Chargers, despite their consistent problem of - well - consistency, seem to have a pretty solid core of players. Franchise QB, solid running backs, competent WRs, and passable line play. But after a 9-7 season where they lost to the Raiders twice, Norv & Co. have to find ways to slow down opposing teams: it doesn't look good when you give up an average of 4.5 touchdowns a game to your in-state rival. While some people have the Chargers taking a DE in the first, I'm thinking that between the inevitable run on linemen and having the Chiefs eying up OLBs three picks below them that they'll go with Akeem Ayers, OLB, UCLA.

Ayers is the prototypical athlete for a 3-4 OLB. He managed to get 4 sacks, 10 tackles for losses, an INT, and 68 tackles last season, which made him UCLA's defensive MVP and got him third place in the vote for the Butkus award. Between his ability to knock the ball loose, his ball hawking skills, and his tackling ability, Ayers would give the Chargers a much-needed defensive boost. The Chargers also get bonus points for taking a SoCal player.

On the clock next making the selection for the G-Men is David Taylor...

And if you've missed any of our picks so far, we've got them all nice and tidy in chart form right here. Chart work courtesy of the above mentioned Mr. Taylor.

Poll

Give us your grade for the Akeem Ayers to the Chargers pick...

A

6 votes

B

2 votes

C

2 votes

D

0 votes

F

1 votes

11 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

Lame

Aren’t these live Mock Drafts getting old…what’s the diff of a live mock draft and one that you don’t need to wait for? I can tell ya, the latter option doesn’t waste your time in waiting for info that is not real.

by Sonicbob on Apr 19, 2011 4:35 PM CDT reply actions

It's actually kind of fun participating in a draft like this.

Think about it as “real GMs” drafting and having to react to a draft’s twists and turns instead of what one guy thinks’ll happen.

Weekend contributor at Windy City Gridiron

by Steven Schweickert on Apr 19, 2011 5:01 PM CDT up reply actions

All us writers for WCG are going back and forth making choices

If we were able to all sit down over lunch and knock out an entire mock we would, but unfortunately we all live across the U.S. and we all have different schedules.

But thanks for the constructive criticism.

If you go in the bathroom, turn off the lights, and say "Da Coach" 5 times while facing the mirror... Ditka will appear and slap the wussy right out of you.

by Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. on Apr 19, 2011 7:33 PM CDT up reply actions