Tom Telesco and His Problem With Third-Round Draft Picks

Los Angeles Chargers general manager Tom Telesco has had a mixed record so far. On one hand, he has never struck gold in hiring a head coach – but in fairness, the Spanos ownership may be just as much to blame for that, if not more. As a drafter, the results have also been mixed – he’s taken some absolute gems but he’s also had a fair share of busts. The odd thing is how many of the latter have been in the third round – the most recent being Tre McKitty, who was released a few days before this writing. McKitty is the latest in a line of third-round Telesco busts, many of whom seem like downright dart throws by Telesco – which is odd, given that he’s not as prone to that elsewhere.

Tom Telesco and his Third-Round Draft Pick Problem

The Exceptions

The obvious exception here is Keenan Allen, of course. He was the third-round pick in Telesco’s first season as Chargers GM in 2013. And he’s turned out to be one of the best receivers in franchise history. The thing that some may forget, though, is that Allen was a bit of a dart throw too – he was just one that worked out. But he had fallen in the Draft due to a knee injury during his final year of college. The Chargers took the chance that said injury wouldn’t be a problem later – and in the end, that gamble paid off.

He’s the only Pro Bowler so far that Tom Telesco has selected in the third round, but there have been a couple of other good ones. Josh Palmer (2021) was a bit of a slow-burner, but two years in a row now he has filled in quite well when needed due to injuries. Defensive tackle Justin Jones (2018) and offensive tackle Trey Pipkins (2019) have been serviceable as well (or were, in Jones’ case – he walked in free agency). For a year or two, Jones was the best run-stopper on the team.

Pipkins isn’t anything great at right tackle, but after suffering through Storm Norton in 2021, he almost looks like a Pro Bowler by comparison. For whatever it’s worth, he was the first third-round pick since Allen to get a contract extension after his initial rookie deal.

2014-2017: Four Straight Failures

After the above-mentioned exceptions, it starts getting ugly. We’ll start with the 2014 third-round pick – offensive lineman Chris Watt. 17 games, only eight starts – and in 2014 he only started due to severe shortages at the center position, which he had never played before. Watt did a respectable job given that context, but it went downhill from there. He started three games again at center in 2015, got benched, and then later injured – and was unable to stay on the field after that. He ultimately was cut midway through the 2016 season after a failed physical. While it may seem a little unfair to label him as a bust, given that injuries were what did him in, he wasn’t trending in the right direction even before that.

Next up is cornerback Craig Mager from 2015. He started a total of ten games in his first two seasons and had one interception in that time. However, he was so bad (PFF score of 47.2 in 2016, just to give you an idea) that he ended up on the practice squad in 2017 and was released for good in 2018. Mager stands out as one of the worst draft picks of the Telesco era, period.

2016 and 2017 both saw more offensive linemen get drafted. Max Tuerk never played a single snap for the Chargers. Part of not playing in 2016 was due to recovering from an ACL injury, but that doesn’t explain everything. In 2017 he got suspended four games for PED’s – and after serving said suspension, was promptly sent to the practice squad. The Arizona Cardinals eventually picked him up. And in 2017, Dan Feeney actually turned out better than second-round offensive lineman Forrest Lamp from the same year – which isn’t saying much. He was the starter at left guard for three years, and while he wasn’t downright bad, his best attribute was that he never missed a game. He’s at least still in the league, but has only started seven games over the last three years.

More Recent Third-Rounders

2018 and 2019 brought Jones and Pipkins, who both fared better than any of the above four examples (though Pipkins took a while). In 2020 the Chargers traded away their third-round pick. In 2021 they had two third-round picks – Palmer and McKitty. The difference between those two is night and day. Palmer is a solid #2 WR. McKitty just got released after only 16 catches for 117 yards through two season and wasn’t panning out as a blocker either. You know it’s bad when the coach basically admits the player sucked after cutting him.

It may seem a little early to judge 2022 third-rounder safety JT Woods, but he’s not trending in the right direction either. He seemed like a bit of a reach in 2022, and he’s not living up to expectations. He started one game in 2022 and had only three tackles all year. He’s missed a few games in 2023 but hasn’t really done much in the few games he’s played in. Woods has not shown much talent as a tackler or as a ball-hawk. Unless he turns things around, he could easily find himself getting cut next year like McKitty – especially if there’s a regime change next year at coach and/or GM.

It’s too early to judge this year’s third-round rookie Daiyan Henley yet – and with Eric Kendricks and Kenneth Murray keeping the starting linebacker spots locked down, we may not see much of him this year barring injury. Still, he seems more promising than the likes of McKitty or Woods.

In Conclusion

While it’s not a 100% failure rate by any means, there does seem to be a pattern of Tom Telesco taking strange chances in the third round – and often striking out. Allen is the only Pro Bowler third-rounder, Pipkins is the only other one to get an extension so far, and – not counting this year’s rookie – Palmer is the only one currently on a rookie deal that looks that good.

Out of 10 third-round picks from 2013 to 2022, six have either been downright busts or are headed in that direction. That is not good. We shouldn’t expect Tom Telesco to strike gold every time by any means, but at least don’t keep drafting busts and making dart throws on players in the third round – some of whom arguably should have been Day 3 picks even before hindsight. Considering he’s had better success overall in the first and second rounds, it might seem odd to focus on this, but it’s hard to ignore some of the colossal failures Telesco has had with the third round specifically.