To judge an NFL team’s draft class, wait four years.

So says Bill Polian, a Hall of Famer at judging football talent.

Come January 2020, what grade will the Chargers assign to the eight-man draft class that Polian protégé Tom Telesco and John Spanos assembled last week?

Whatever Chargers bosses conclude, they can’t complain about how the ‘16 draft set up for them.


By “virtue” of their 4-12 season, the Bolts received several goodies that we all know about by now: the third pick overall that was their first top-10 choice since 2004, and five other top-5 picks in other rounds. The eight draft chips led the four-year Telesco Era.

But that wasn’t all.

Once again, Philip Rivers, the gift that keeps on giving, provided extra draft leverage to the guys in the collared shirts.

Telesco, like A.J. Smith before him, was able to skip the quarterback hunt. With Rivers under contract through 2019, the team could invest all of its premium picks in other positions.


Because so many quarterbacks went in the upper rounds this year, the annual Rivers bonus was perhaps greater than ever.

Telesco, without lifting a finger, found players within his reach that otherwise may not have been were quarterbacks less popular. Exhibit A was the No. 3 pick, which, because quarterbacks went first and second, allowed him to draft anyone he wanted. Telesco chose Ohio State end Joey Bosa. He was the team’s top-graded player, the GM said, from September onward.

We’re used to the Chargers not really bothering with quarterbacks since Rivers took over. This trend dates to 2007. Rivers, proving his chops as a first-year starter, had just guided a star-studded team to a 14-2 record.

By now, the trend sports a Weddle-length beard.


For the 10th draft in a row, the Bolts took no quarterback across the top four rounds. Of the other 31 teams, only the Chiefs and the Bears have done the same.

For the eighth time in the 10 years, the Chargers took no quarterback at all.

How popular were QBs last week in Chicago?

Nine went in the top four rounds, the most since 1999.


Seven went in the Top 100, a total last exceeded in 1990.

Goodness gracious, as Rivers might say, even teams that have a franchise quarterback took a quarterback before the fifth round.

The Patriots, in the wake of Tom Brady’s four-game suspension to open the 2016 season, chose a passer out of Philip Rivers U. The cost was a third-round pick (and New England had no first-round pick).

That’s how the Pats roll. Jacoby Brissett of North Carolina State thus joined Kevin O’Connell, Jimmy Garopollo and Ryan Mallett as Patriots-drafted quarterbacks taken in the last 10 years, all of them in a top-four round.


The Raiders, even with Derek Carr entrenched as their quarterback after not missing a start in two years, traded up to the top of the fourth round, where they took Michigan State’s Connor Cook.

So when the Chargers drafted Ohio State linebacker Josh Perry soon after, at 102 overall, he was actually the 95th player as far as they were concerned, because seven passers went before him.

(The Chargers and others can count on the Browns drafting a quarterback in many years. While the choice of USC’s Cody Kessler in the third round was surprising, Cleveland has claimed five quarterbacks before the fifth round in the same 10-draft span that San Diego has taken none there. Behind them, at four, are the Dolphins, Eagles, Jets and Patriots. In three of the last six drafts, the Broncos have spent a top-60 pick on a quarterback. Twice, they also kicked in extra draft capital to trade up.)

Ten quarterbacks had gone by the time Telesco snapped up Akron linebacker Jatavis Brown, a fifth-round selection.


Within minutes, Telesco received several texts from other NFL personnel congratulating him.

Telesco described second-round arrival Hunter Henry as a first-round talent. General managers say those kinds of things, but it made extra sense this time, in light of Hunter being the 32nd non-quarterback taken, at 35 overall.

Four quarterbacks helped get USC center Max Tuerk to the Chargers at 66.

There are various schools of thought about drafting a potential franchise quarterback when you already have one.


Former Raiders and Packers talent man Ron Wolf, a Hall of Fame inductee who served as a Chargers consultant in recent job searches, drafted several quarterbacks during future Hall of Famer Brett Favre’s 16-year tenure with the club. He spun a few off for draft picks. Of course, he hit the jackpot with Aaron Rodgers, who went 24th in 2005, studied under and succeeded Favre, and led Green Bay to a Super Bowl victory.

A young backup quarterback taken after the first round can be cheaper than a veteran backup, liberating dollars for elsewhere. The chance to mold a young quarterback, to integrate him into a system, also appeals to several teams. Rodgers said apprenticing under Favre was invaluable.

While it’s possible the Chargers have missed out on similar dividends, it’s hard to argue with their decisions to sit out the QB market in the last 10 drafts. (They made two late-round selections: of the stunningly inaccurate Jonathan Crompton, by A.J. Smith in 2010; and Brad Sorensen, by Telesco in 2013.)

Rivers has proved nearly indestructible, encouraging the Chargers to push off seeking a replacement.


He’s the aging but still trusty vehicle that you keep, while using the savings to pay other bills.

The Face of San Diego Sports, he’s made every start since taking over in 2006. He said he’s improved his overall conditioning in recent years, with an emphasis on running. Now 34, he said in January he felt much better physically than 12 months earlier, when a stubborn back ailment slowed him.

He’s under contract through 2019. The last time he worked under playcaller Ken Whisenhunt, in 2013, he had, I believe, his best career season when one also counts his turnover-free showing in the playoff win at Cincinnati.

Backup QB Kellen Clemens, a veteran who took the Rams to a 4-5 record in 2013, is back for his third season in Mike McCoy’s system.


It’s not exactly a big gamble to count on Rivers. The Chargers just haven’t made the most of the opportunities.

For all the edges he provided last year, both on the field and in the draft, they didn’t prevent the Bolts from finishing last this past season.

When the Bolts finally do launch a succession plan at quarterback, we’ll see where things stand.

Bosa, who never went through anything like a 4-12 season at Ohio State or in high school, said it’s up to newcomers and holdovers alike to rally around Rivers.


It’s only fair. If not for him, some of them wouldn’t be here.