In a first round filled with trades, the San Diego Chargers stayed home at the 18th overall pick and selected South Carolina defensive end Melvin Ingram. The pick ultimately fills the pass-rushing need the Chargers have lacked since Shawne Merriman's career fell apart a few years back.
The first round featured many surprises, the most shocking being the Seattle Seahawks picking West Virginia defensive end Bruce Irvin with the 15h overall selection. Irvin was considered a second-round pick at best by most experts, and there were some mock drafts that had him going in the fifth round.
In addition to that surprise, Iowa offensive tackle Riley Reiff and Stanford offensive guard David DeCastro were still available to the Chargers at #18. Many Chargers fans, including myself, were hoping one of the two would still be there for San Diego general manager A.J. Smith to steal. Taking Reiff would have given the Chargers a right tackle to replace the inept Jeromey Clary; DeCastro would have replaced the recently-retired Kris Dielman at left guard. Instead, Smith chose Ingram to help fortify a pass-rushing unit that's in desperate need of an impact player.
ESPN NFL draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. and former Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden praised the selection of Ingram, with each of them stating it was an absolute steal. For Chargers fans' sakes, let's hope they're correct.
The's 6-1, 276-pound Ingram, who's expected to play outside linebacker in San Diego's 3-4 defensive scheme, is a versatile talent who took on several different roles for the Gamecocks. In 2011 he had 10 sacks and 15 tackles for losses. He also made one of the greatest plays of last season, when he scored a touchdown on a 68-yard fake punt run against the Georgia Bulldogs. As a junior in 2010 he had nine sacks and 11 tackles for losses.
As far as the second round goes, Smith will have plenty of options, but one of them will not be Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith, who was just selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the 29th overall pick.
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