Redrafted draft may be full of surprises

As the NFL draft makes its prime-time debut on Thursday, Chargers Vice President Ed McGuire will be seated, as always, to A.J. Smith’s right, two seats away but close enough to hand him the phone if necessary. McGuire and Smith have been taking phone calls for more than a month — since LaDainian Tomlinson left, followed out the door by Michael Bennett — about other teams’ running backs. The talk has been mostly speculative, but it has gotten more earnest in recent days and will continue to increase in specifics and intensity this week and into the draft. It is McGuire who does the talking with other teams during the draft. He tells Smith what is said. The general manager gets on the horn only when he has to. There is always dialogue, some of it outlandish feelers and some serious proposals. This year, count on more of the latter. There is the real potential for some wheeling and dealing, perhaps to an extent not seen by the Chargers since back when they were awful. ...