Jeff Miller Talks Chargers NFL Draft, Jim Harbaugh, Maximizing Justin Herbert | MOST VALUABLE PICK!?

In this episode, Jake and Dan are joined by LA Times’ Jeff Miller to discuss the Los Angeles Chargers NFL Draft class, the new era of football under Jim Harbaugh & Joe Hortiz compared to years past, protecting and maximizing Justin Herbert, Chargers NFL Draft Picks, Chargers new players, remaining team needs. Who was the biggest surprise draft selection? Who will be the most valuable draft pick? Who will be the most impactful selection? Draft grades – All this and more – tune in!

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Chargers Unleashed Hosts: Jake Hefner (@JakeTHefner) and Dan Wolkenstein (@DanWSports)

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Chargers Unleashed Podcast, and Blueprints, are weekly Chargers podcasts, part of the LAFB Network, covering all things Los Angeles Chargers. Chargers Unleashed and Blueprints provide listeners with unique and refreshing perspectives on the latest in Chargers news and storylines, along with special guest appearances, player interviews, off-season discussions for NFL Draft, Free Agency, training camps, and weekly updates surrounding Los Angeles Chargers for fans around the globe. Tune in for Chargers interviews, Chargers news, and more!

Chargers players discussed include Justin Herbert, Derwin James, Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, Rashawn Slater, Josh Palmer, Asante Samuel Jr, Daiyan Henley, Quentin Johnston, Tuli Tuipulotu, and much more. We also discuss Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh, OC Greg Roman, DC Jesse Minter and the rest of the Chargers coaching staff. The LA Chargers 2024 draft class: 1 OT Joe Alt 2 WR Ladd McConkey 3  LB Junior Colson 4  DL Justin Eboigbe 5  CB Tarheeb Still 5  CB Cam Hart 6  RB Kimani Vidal 7  WR Brenden Rice 7  WR Cornelius Johnson

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welcome to another edition of chargers Unleashed Jake ker and Dan walkenstein here with you from the LA football network this is your first time tuning in the show make sure to hit that like And subscribe button you can also follow us on Facebook Twitter Instagram Spotify and apple podcast Dan walkenstein as the dust from the 2024 NFL draft now comes settling down now comes the really droll part of the year I remember I used to always talk about this like going up to April but then it’s like once you get to April and the draft concludes and you’re like okay now can we just get football back now can it just be August now can we just get into the preseason and see all these guys there’s a lot to digest after everything that took place at the NFL draft and who better to bring on the show today to talk everything Chargers you thought I was going to say who it was but no I leave those rights up to Dan wenin Dan walkenstein take the floor and please if you would yes Chargers fans are excited the crescendo of the draft now we’re at the crash but I honestly think it’s still going to be some crescendos happening with some possible free agency moves but we’ll talk about the free agency so far we’ll talk about the NFL draft with longtime friend of the show LA Times Jeff Miller joins us today talks all things NFL draft his grades we’ll talk about how to they maximize Justin Herbert so much more with Jeff Miller next on Chargers Unleashed before we do that I want to remind you guys that bet online is your number one source for all of your summer Sports this season from MLB golf NBA and NFL Playoff stats all the latest stats news news and scores available to follow on your favorite teams get the latest odds and lines including the your latest team matchups player props and odds on just about every sport that is out there head on over to the website today or use your mobile device to get into the action and use the promo code Unleashed going over to beted online today where the game starts we have a fun one today char fans longtime friend of the show and friend of both of us personally Jeff Miller from the LA Times joins us here again on Chargers unleash exciting times for Chargers fans Jeff how are you my friend I’m doing fantastic how are you guys doing doing good again I seeing you in a room with light this time Jeff is is very gratifying and from where I know you’re at location wise I don’t think that we have to worry about you know those automatic timers going off and people possibly giving you the hint to get out of the media room this time so I’m really happy this is going to be fun I I hope yeah I hope I don’t disappoint I hope my electricity doesn’t disappoint either so I hope it doesn’t I hope it doesn’t we’ll find out uh look we have a lot to discuss with you today and you are probably one more than most can give a lot of perspective on kind of this charger staff and the new regime the new era and the draft selection so kind of let’s let’s just kick this thing off with kind of the Jim Harbaugh era since he was announced as the head coach like so much has changed with this team you know from the staff it was brought in Joe Ortiz the GM all of the names that are no longer on the roster you got free agents added and the draft that we just had what do you make of just the overall offseason so far like is it what you expected or are there some things that maybe caught you off guard since Harbaugh began in January well I I think the thing with Harbaugh is none of us really knew what to expect you know before he got here um and you know he this is a you know this is a celebrity coach who shows up with a giant reputation so he walks in the door and we’re all looking at him kind of sideways like what’s what’s this you know wacko weirdo gonna do you know and he hasn’t disappointed in some of the weirdness but uh so it’s it’s it was you know the it was hard to have real expectations because I had never been around him I’d never talked to him before any of this I didn’t know anything you know I didn’t know him at all I I had covered the year the 49ers made the Super Bowl I was at that Super Bowl and they played the Ravens and the most I was around him was in these giant press conferences where there’s hundreds of people in a room so you I I remember being in some Ballroom in New Orleans and and thinking that’s kind of cool the two brothers are are you know coaching against each other but at that time of course La didn’t even have a team so you know we were sort of on the outside of the NFL so I wasn’t watching real close I wasn’t you know there’s certain things I was doing and writing about the two brothers wasn’t someone else was doing that so I really wasn’t paying that much attention to to that so I do nothing about him so uh but if you want to you know in terms of this is the third coach I’ve covered with the Chargers the what’s different and is very clear the you know Anthony Lynn Brandon Staley talked about certain things we’re going to do this we’re gonna do that and the commitment was sort of there with this guy like there is no question that they they’re going to run the ball like they that’s been his thing right since he got here we’re going to be a running team you know Vince Lombardi would be proud of us all that stuff well there’s no they’re not just talking about it everything they’ve been doing you know so much of what they’ve done this offseason is is right to that core of that and it goes right you know from through free agency you know the decisions they made I mean you know the two receivers at left you know everybody’s kind of freaking out understandably about that but then they go you know they what do they do they they sign a blocking tight end that’s the the biggest investment they made this offseason was a blocking tight end and then they bring in the two running backs that you know everybody knows that those guys have done when they’re both healthy and then it goes through the draft and they in the first pick they pick a tackle which a you know I think everybody saw that coming but still some people were like wow they passed on neighbors and so the the thing is with this guy is like there is there’s no question what it’s everything’s very intentional and they are yeah I hate I hate the all in everybody’s all in on everything now but they are they’re all in on what they do like they this Harbaugh is gonna do Harbaugh and basically it’s like the Chargers hired this guy gave him a ton of money and I think just got out of his way and said do your thing and that’s that’s what we’re seeing Jeff you mentioned it you’ve covered this team for some time now as you’ve seen multiple uh drafts of this franchise coaching regimes tied to Tom Tesco and Company in short just in terms of since Joe hortiz arrived and since the whole Batman Robin discussion between him and Jim Harbaugh kind of came to be how does this makeup or philosophy in this year’s offseason and draft under Harbaugh and hortiz compared to what you’ve seen from the previous GMS and coaches that you’ve covered well the real difference with this the with especially with Harbaugh is you know you know his plan and you know his plan succeeds because it always has so that that whole element of can Anthony Lyn coach what’s Brandon Staley going to be like as a head coach all of that’s gone so there the feeling if I was a player on this team uh I would be super fired up because we know I know we’re gonna we’re going to be successful he’s gonna get enough time that we’re going to be successful and there’s no question about the coaching that’s gone all those questions about can this guy do it are long gone so no nobody has to worry about that so I I just think there’s a confidence and there’s a belief and that you if you’re a player if you’re a fan of this team you just got to ride with it and and you might not completely understand the neighbors’s decision you might not completely understand you know why would we take another tackle we got two starting tackles already you you you might not get like you know what’s happening with the wide receivers they you know you might not understand any of that stuff you just got to go with it because that I I’m sure that’s what the Chargers the people above Harbaugh that’s what they’re doing and they they from I understand what everybody says that they have they’re out you know they’ve stepped back and said do your thing and I think there’s that confidence that around all this stuff that for a team that won five games last year it doesn’t feel like this team won five games like I there’s a sense I think around the building I think there’s a sense really everybody’s got even you know people in the media and National media I mean I saw something the other day that Chargers after the draft the Colin card had has has the 10th best team in the NFL which is insane I mean they’re the 10th best team like that’s crazy so but I think it’s it’s all because of one man it’s all because of Jim Harbaugh and and that’s the biggest difference and something around this team I’ve never felted until the last few months here now is there like a have you noticed anything with the staff on how they are bought in or how they are connected to the New Vision versus years past because the staff seems very large and there a Big Brain Trust there but how do you see like the interconnectiveness of all of them yeah I think uh you know Nick Hardwick said it the other day Jim Harbaugh calls you say yes you we were talking about offensive line assistant former Charger player we all know that but we were talking to him about getting hired and that was what he said Jim Harbaugh calls you say yes so I I think there’s that I think all these guys you know a lot of them obviously have worked with Jim a lot of them have worked with Jim’s brother so they knew Jim because of John so he’d been around uh the guys who who you know maybe didn’t have a lot of history with Harbaugh a guy like Nick Hardwick who they didn’t really know each other that’s that’s the reaction they’re all you buy in because you know what you’re buying into there’s no mystery to it so um there is I don’t know how you couldn’t be connected right now because you’re you you know this guy reaches out you you you know he extends your hand you reach back you shake hands with this guy he pulls you in now you’re a long the ride no matter what happens so uh you know until they start playing games until they start losing games and their stress and all this other stuff you just got to go with it and I think the other thing about this staff that’s a little bit different there’s a lot of experience a lot of experience on these guys guys who played in the league guys who’ve been in the league coaching for a long time again there’s you know when Staley was here we talked about you know a lot of us in the media we we never could figure out why he didn’t bring in a veteran guy to help him with some of the stuff longtime you know coach whatever a guy who’d been in the league a long time whatever it was sort of you know like um you know like a Wade Phillips when you know McVey started with the Rams and Wade Phillips was there it was like oh this makes a lot of sense like a viio type yeah completely and you know and never happened well you know on top of the head coach you know being 60 years old and having done this forever and done it at a high level he’s brought in guys with his experience or more experience than he has so that you know again I go back to kind of what I said last time all the mystery about the coaching staff and all that it’s all gone I mean we know it we know what the offense is going to look like now the defense a little bit of more of a mystre you know a little more of an unknown but you know ultimately we know if this if they’re that this team wins and plays well we know what it’s going to look like and so I at this point I mean everybody you know everybody’s alone for the ride really and Har you know behind the wheel you know so kind of like buckle up and hang on kind of thing you know yeah and I think Chargers fans probably and this is not just fans but nationally almost unanimously are excited about this draft class the Chargers has had nine picks in total almost unanimous you’re getting A’s and a minuses across the board nationally let’s do a little word association we’ll get into the draft selections now um four of these for you of the nine selections there which selection would you say is the biggest value selection oh that’s a good one uh you know um I’m looking at the list right in front of me um you know I I hate to I hate to start like I my first my first thought is Brandon rice but then that’s a seventh round pick um I you know may maybe uh I mean you know makoni you know he a lot of people thought he might go in the first round um you know that’s a guy who uh you know we just based on we we all know they needed a wide receiver and they they got by all accounts a really polished good one who a guy who we all expect is going to be contribute right away and uh and just you know there’s no reason not to think that this guy isn’t going to come in and have a big year um so I guess I would say him and I’m gonna I’m holding back a couple names here just because I I’m trying to anticipate what you’re gonna ask next so I’m gonna go with vad Vlad mononi just because you know they did get him in the second round and like a lot of people uh thought he could have been a first round pick so and and because they needed that position desperately it’s a good answer so we got three more of these to sprinkle in uh most immediate imp impact which selection will have the most immediate impact um I’m gonna I guess I I’ll have to say uh probably Joe all the first- round pick I I don’t think the full expectation is he’s going to be the starting right tackle and I don’t think anybody I I any short of that would be very surprising so I mean I think that’s a guy who I think it’s one of those situations when we see him it’s kind of like when Cory Lindley got here when he’s you know and and Mike pouny before him when he was on his game it was like oh my God that’s what that looks like so I think Joe Al’s going to be that where it’s going to be like oh yeah that that’s the difference it reminds me of uh a few years back I was doing the playoffs in the four I was at the 49ers were playing Packers up in uh Santa Clara and I watched the Chargers That season and then I’m watching the 49ers offensive line and like the second series I was like oh so that’s what the of line Looks like that’s what so I think I think Jo Al’s going to have that effect where it’s going to be like okay yeah that’s that’s what a tackle when you have two tackles that’s what the right tackle is supposed to look like so I I’m gonna go with Joe Jake take it away the last two your favorite selection out of days one two and three who was it oh wow um you know uh I kind of like this cam Hart kid he’s super smart um you know he’s the the the the only thing about Cam that I’m a little leery about is you hear the stuff you hear about him is kind of the JT wood stuff and it’s like he’s got the body he’s got this he’s length he can do all this stuff the difference of course is you know they took cam a little later where they didn’t get get in the third round like uh so but I think you know he uh he’s he seems like a really bright kid he seems uh it was I like talking to him when he was on the call um yeah again that’s a position where there you know there’s a chance to you know some of these guys are going to have a shot if they can if they can show some stuff early uh and you know I for some reason I you know I kind of like these Notre a guys I don’t know why maybe alohi Gilman Drew tranel you know they might have uh you know kind of Tainted my not tainted but they might have me the rose yeah they might have G they might have sweetened the pot they’re both such good dudes and good I like talking to both of them so uh um yeah I I’ll go with Cam and finally what selection would you consider to be the biggest surprise at a dan3 so now see I was I thought I was gonna be able I didn’t really surprise I thought I was gonna be able to talk go on about Junior um that because that’s the one I think we got a question for you about Junior don’t worry pretty excited about um surprised uh you know what’s the re it’s and I think it’s a good sign that this is a hard one to answer because there were no like shocking head scratching what in the world were they thinking um I guess the the one issue uh uh is okay I gotta slow down now Ebby Justin e Bo yes okay so the the only reason I would say surprising at all you know he has this neck injury that he had a couple years ago um played with it last year played great with it you know had no issues told us he’s fine Jor T said they medical checked out and everything they have no concerns um that is something you know I sure hope the kid never has to deal with it again but it is something that’s a little scary so maybe from a surprise element you know I’m sure some teams looked at him and thought yeah you know I don’t know if we want to make that commitment and we’re g to go you know I’m not going to say he was you know had uh you know had the black mark on him you know like no we’re not going to draft this guy under any circumstances I don’t know if any teams had that but I’m sure some teams had the flag of like you know okay if he’s maybe around a little bit later we’ll look at him and again it’s a fourth round pick so it’s not like uh you know something where they invested you know too early on them but I guess surprising only in the fact that you know that is uh that’s a fairly significant U if there’s any risk in of all these picks that was the one where you’d think yeah you know they’re there’re you know but like I said hopefully it’s not an issue hopefully we never talk about it we never have to write about it or any of that stuff but that would be I guess but again it’s hard to come up with like what were they doing I can’t believe it no one saw that coming because you guys you look at all these picks they all make sense positional standpoint you know from you know that other than uh kman I gotta slit on these names other than kamani Vidal right at running back they’re all big school guys played in huge games know know what it is to play in a big environment played against guys who are in going to be in the NFL or are in the NFL um so it’s hard to you know there’s there’s no no projects there’s nobody who okay it’s going to take three or four years so there there isn’t yeah there really isn’t a shock you know there’s no shocking surprising like what in the world where’ this come from picks and I think that’s a good thing let’s turn it over to the defense because specifically as it relates to the linebacker spot a lot of turnover at that position everybody expects Deon Henley to see obviously a bump and play you bring back certain familiar veterans like Denzel Perryman and then the Chargers go out and select Junior Coulson who was one of the favorites for the Chargers to do if Jim Harbaugh was going to select some of his guys from Michigan and you had a good quote from Coulson in your LA Times article where Coulson said I believe that I am the guy in the middle that they’ve been looking for what do you make of that selection overall and the impact that Ki could have on this defense um I I think that was a that was definitely a Jim Harbaugh and I think they were like I’m sure that they I mean we were you know we were targeting him I’m sure they were targeting him and you know that’s a position as we all know it’s kind of like running back and linebackers have kind of got kicked to the the side of the road and a lot of these you know the last few years and so um it’s so it’s not it’s not as dramatic a pick a position as it used to be like you know when I was growing up the linebacker was the best player in the team in a lot of cases and and now you see you we’ve seen it with this team you know the guy leads the team of tackles and he’s gone the next year we see it all the time so uh but having said that I think in this defense it’s a really important position and I think that’s a guy that knows the defense and knows exactly you know he’s going to show up day one knowing what’s going on he’ll be here next weekend at this rookie mini camp and they’ll be in these classes I’m going to tell you right now he’s going to be telling other guys what to do like how to do stuff and he’ll be explaining things to other players and I I I I I feel 100% confident in that because he knows you know he knows the system I’m sure there’ll be some you know it’s the it’s College in NFL so there’s going to be some tweaks and stuff I’m sure but he’s going to show up knowing the language and so that’s that gives him a huge a leg up and that gives him a huge you know um you um what what’s the word like U I was almost like fault Start Head Start it didn’t give him a FAL start G him a head start a lot of a lot of other guys are going to be catching up and so um you know it’s you always have to be leery about like after the the pick I was I was asking Joe and Jim like what’s happening at linebacker like is Denzel a starter you know is this guy gonna could he come in and start like what’s happening and you know and they don’t want to commit to anything but but Jim mentioned Denzel obviously and then Junior and then he mentioned Deon so that to me indicates okay these are the three guys you’re looking at I me these These are the three guys you know in those two spots and I think you know going into this you know we could see some kind of a rotation we’ll see how it shakes up but I I mean it it you know it’s hard to I try not to get too you know Buy in too heavily on any of these rookies just yet especially after the first and second round because you never know sometimes it takes guys a little while and it might take Junior a little while just NFL speed wise the thing is we know it’s not going to take him a while to get the defense so you know maybe he maybe he’ll play you know he may play from day one I we’ll see and I but I mean he’s a guy I I’d be very surprised if he you know if he doesn’t contribute on some you know some level on on defense I don’t think this is going to be like you know dayon you know where he was mostly a special teams player and obviously playing behind two guys who are veterans that situation has changed at position so I think you know the path is there for junior to play and and play a lot and play right away so as long as he can stay healthy and get into training camp and make it through Camp healthy and um you know he’s a guy we could be seeing a lot of early on sure yeah we’re talking to Jeff Miller from the LA times for those of you listening on ESPN Radio you can check out the full episode on lacore Unleashed on YouTube Jeff Let’s uh continue the thing going on the other side of the ball though let’s go receiver so receiving room is look a hell of a lot different this season Keenan and Mike no longer there three Selections in the draft for the wide receiver room some udfas as well like what do you make of this new and improved wide receiver room new and improved I don’t know if that’s actually true yet coaches have talked about like building a basketball team right with different skill sets is it you know like mission accomplished or are there maybe traits or receiver archetypes that they’re still without that you think they need yeah I think um there’s definitely um there’s definitely room for more I and I I think we all anticipate they’re going to sign somebody here one of these veterans who still left U not that it’s going to be anybody to get real super excited about but I think what they don’t have is they really don’t have other than uh Joshua Palmer they do you know it’s kind of again I look at him he’s like a guy you know he doesn’t seem like he’s been here that long and he’s like the veteran presence and and and you know Palmer’s a a good good dude and I uh you know he’s our Pro you know he’s real serious he he’s he’s football that’s what he does I don’t know if he’s necessarily I mean you can watch him and just do what he does and follow him but he’s not it doesn’t seem like terribly vocal so I I could see them trying to get a guy who’s a little more experienced maybe a little more of a outgoing kind of like um could maybe sort of tutor some of these guys a little bit and just you know and don’t get me wrong I mean if you if you show up and you just copy what Joshua Palmer does and how his how he works you’re going to be fine but there’s another level I think maybe of uh sort of mentorship that they don’t have right now and then they you know let’s face it they I think Justin Herbert would be you know happy if a a more experienced guy walked in the room and be like okay that’s a guy who I know I can go to because you know right now I mean after Joshua I’m sure Justin’s like well hopefully this lad makoni kid is everything and it looks like he can catch and he can do his stuff and after that it’s you know I don’t know I mean I don’t know what Quinton Johnston I’m not sure what what that’s gonna look like new coaches maybe he’ll you know he’ll find another level he’ll find himself maybe under this new regime um and then they’ve got a bunch of young guys so uh uh you know the thing is I don’t know that they need uh elite elite wide receivers to win with this with this off this quarterback you know somebody I talked to the other day said well one thing is Justin Herbert’s goingon to make all these wide receivers better you know and which is true if if they can catch the ball which you know he tried to make Quinton Johnston better last year and Quinton just couldn’t hang out of the ball so if they catch the ball and yeah but yeah so uh it’s still like a it’s still going to be built that’s a room I think we’re going to see them continue to add to and I wouldn’t be shocked if the end a training camp that’s you know they bring in a guy who gets released that kind of thing depending on what they how it looks through the preseason and all that where they’re at but um uh yeah I uh it’s it’s definitely not what it was but I don’t think it has to be for these guys to to win football games let’s talk about one of those wide receivers in particular because Brenan rice when he was selected to the Chargers he’s basically been the fiood story since the draft not just because of when he was selected in the seventh round but also under the circumstances of what he was going through at the time when he was selected and he looks to be coming in with a chip on his shoulder he said to Joe hortiz over the phone that the Chargers one of the favorite teams that he wanted to play for what was your impression collectively from Joe Ortiz Jim Harbaugh and the rest of the group that ultimately ended up making that decision about how they feel about him as a player I I think they view him as a guy that can make plays down the field and he did that you know playing you know playing for an NFL with an NFL quarterback right at USC so I I think that’s kind of what they Envision um I was talking to a scout yesterday um who was saying that one of the issues he had with Brandon is that he’s not he doesn’t get great separation and they were talking about how at at SC you know he you know he he he wasn’t always great getting open like he and um and that maybe led to some of his you know some his numbers maybe not being as big as you might have thought but we he did make plays down the field and he has a way of getting in the end zone and he scored a lot of touchdowns at SC so I think both of those things are are if you’re you you combine those two things with his body I mean he’s got an NFL body um and uh you know and obviously is that you know his dad was a a great NFL player so um there there’s that pedigree so I I think uh you know that’s another you know we talked about makoni maybe being a going around later than he could have obviously Brandon’s a guy who some people thought would be you know fifth round pick maybe six and these guys get him in the seventh so uh again another value pick position they need and I think both he and Cornelius Johnson like uh Jo Ortiz said it after the draft the first thing he said was these guys have NFL bodies and that uh and and so they look the part which you that doesn’t necessarily mean anything but it certainly doesn’t hurt so uh but he’s a guy you know I think the biggest thing is he may they feel like maybe he can do some stuff down the field um not not the Mike Williams level jump ball stuff but something else that he this Scott mentioned that that he’s done too is that he he was really good at those sort of 5050 jump ballish type stuff and we know Herbert you know if he’s got a guy who who will do that can do that he’ll go to it so um and again I don’t want to make this guy sound like he’s Mike Williams because Mike Williams is a you know top 10 first round talent for a reason yeah yeah and so but he does have that element apparently he’s shown that element in his game and if that helps him get on the field you know that that’s that’s something that you know Dan you mentioned you know what maybe skill are they missing what what’s not in that room that’s something that you know Mike Williams walked away with that that that’s not in there right now maybe this is a guy who can bring a little bit of that um so uh again another guy has a clear path to playing time both he and K Johnson if they can do anything I mean they there’s the path is there for these guys to play if they if they show that they’re ready and that they have the skill sets and they can can get on the same page with a quarterback Joe hortiz has said before the draft during free agency even during his introductory press conference in terms of building the team in general but he has always said the work is never done when talking about improving the roster and we’ve heard the Rumblings lately about you know the Tyler boy the MBS the DJ sharks and just always looking for some ways to improve the roster it’s never final to him and now with the draft in the rearview mirror and the way that we can kind of project out to say like okay this is what the depth chart’s going to look like here’s going to be some of the camp battles as far as who’s going to be competing for certain positions but what positions do you feel that the team could look to strengthen between now and the beginning of the Season uh I I think we all are in agreement I think both you guys will agree I mean they’re a little thin at safety like that they brought in three undrafted safeties again all three from Big programs um and I think you know I I think that’s you know I think that’s an acknowledgement that yeah I mean we we might need some help there so let’s look at these guys uh and there’s still you know there’s still some uh safeties out there uh that they have you know depending out how this kind of unfolds they could be looking at um so that’s a position I I think we talked about the wide receiver that’s something they could uh I think they will address I’d be very surprised if they don’t sign one of these veteran guys you know this the center I mean there’s you know they brought you know they brought in Boseman Bradley Boseman who’s a veteran but you know they you know there’s some room maybe there I you know I kind of uh I’m a little we about this cornerback situation I I mean Asante okay we know what aant is Christian fton is he’s been a starter but he also gets hurt you know he’s been hurt I think every season he’s played he’s gotten hurt um and not that you know that’s not a knock on him it’s just that’s the reality of it um and then I we’ve seen jir Taylor do some stuff but then Dean Leonard do some stuff I you don’t sound real optimistic about the current Squad Jeff I I’m a little uh I don’t know I mean I’m interested you guys are you guys am I the only one that has concerns about like it seems like to me that’s another position if they had a veteran guy like if they brought in a veteran nickel who we know okay this guy can play and he’s going to play I’d feel better about that now we have to be real too and understand that you know the who’s out there still we have to understand the the finances you can’t have all pros at every like temporarily there went there went Jeff Miller’s internet dude that wasn’t me you know what you could blame me for that one you could blame me for that one because I totally set it up at the beginning of the show so I’m so sorry it noted everybody watching this I had nothing right Jake yes nothing it’s totally Jake Jake definitely did that it’s now at the point now where I’m sorry Jeff but I hope your power goes out on every single show that we have because now it’s just become such a good recurring Trend that it’s just going to be a mystery at one point is is the internet going to drop is the lights going to go out like who cares now I want the power to drop on you cannot make this stuff up it’s is about three in a row I mean we’re Trifecta here go to the lottery I don’t know I’m starting to wonder about this if this is really a just a coincidence or Not Great Moments I’m thinking no but answer to answer your question no uh you’re not the only one who is uneasy about the quarterback room and Jake we’ve talked about it one veteran and you slide everybody down one in my opinion I think you’re feeling Prett good right now but right now I think you’re a little bit over your skis and you’re basing a lot of this on Hope and that does the win football games I forget who said it but someone said that hope that wi football games and so bring somebody in I think to help kind of steady the ship yeah we’ve seen that right with this franchise and I think probably every team has seen it but I mean it seems like it happens a lot with these guys where it seemed like it happened a lot under Tom Tesco where it was like okay if everybody stays healthy if if if if if everybody play you know and then the season starts and then all of a sudden you’re you’re you got you know they’re scrambling the you know undrafted free agents are coming up and it’s like oh boy maybe that maybe that if will finally be answered with Ben Herbert at the helm in terms of keeping these guys healthy I yeah it’s uh uh we’ll see maybe that makes a difference I don’t know I mean I hope it does for the players sake I mean I the one thing is is I’ve gotten older I got to tell you guys this I I I it always uh I hate when guys get hurt like everybody hates when guys but it really it it hits me deep because like these guys are such good athletes are in such good shape and I I hate when they get hurt it’s just you like especially if it’s a fairly significant thing like I feel like they’re on they’re dead like I get like all panicky like it’s weird like I I I never was I think it’s just that I’m older and so like I get like all concerned and like get I get all worried so this is a touching moment from Jeff Jake’s like out there with like the apples and the orange slices and the Band-Aid just making sure all the kids are all right it’s like so I hope Ben Herbert that that’s my Clumsy awkward way of saying I hope Ben Herbert I hope this work I hope he really does have an impact it’s football and guys are gonna get hurt like it happens Michigan had injuries like they weren’t like all health I mean they didn’t have a ton last year but I mean yeah uh so hope hopefully especially a guy like Folton who you know Harbaugh mentioned specifically that he hopes that Ben Herbert’s program will help a guy like that and avoid some of the soft tissue stuff um so yeah I mean hopefully that happens but again it’s football and guys are going to get hurt so um so we’ll see but yeah that I’m I’m glad to hear you guys say that because I like sometimes I feel like I was running the other day thinking how come people aren’t talking more about corner like it seems like you know and I know you know they you know they they they have addressed it they’ve done some stuff but it just seems like that is one you know that you know that and wide receiver are the kind of the two spots uh and then then just the depth at safety those are kind of um those would be my probably my concerns right now my biggest concerns we’re wrap in with Jeff Miller from the LA Times if you have not done so please go subscribe he’s had a bunch of good articles as of late talked about kind of the new regime under Jim Harbaugh talked about kind of what this new phase of Chargers football with Joe Al be in the selection went through all the selections they had where to get to draft grades and projections here in a second but you kind of mentioned it with the injuries and kind of maximizing you know these young talented athletic players um let’s talk about Justin Herbert for a second because from what we’ve seen so far this offseason especially on the offensive side like the staff seems just hellbent on becoming a Balan and physical team like improving the trenches protecting Justin Herbert first and foremost in establishing a run game in order to help win actual football games do you have like any concern that they may be leaning too far into that ground and pound physical game and maybe wasting some of Justin Herbert’s abilities or do you see what they’re doing as essentially the most effective way to maximize the crown jewel of a quarterback that they have yeah I think right now like kind of like with everything I think you got to sort of give Harbaugh a pass and say okay this is this is your thing you’ve done it keep doing your thing but yeah I think all all of us in the background I mean everybody I’ve had a chance to ask I’ve asked like what is this going to look like for Justin Herbert like what will this offense to the point where I even asked the offensive line coach the other day what’s this gonna look like and knowing he’s an offensive line coach what’s he gonna say and he said nothing so uh I mean Mike devil a nice guy but he said nothing didn’t answer my question but that’s okay but that’s kind of where I am I’m trying to feel this out like what’s for a quarterback what’s this going to look like now you know Harbaugh’s had all the success we all know that you know I don’t know that he’s ever had Justin Herbert type quarterback to work with I gotta believe he’s smart enough to realize and if you know if it’s not him somebody in that building is telling him hey don’t forget you know look at what number 10 is done um so until we start to you know until they start losing games or really struggling in games because they they’re not throwing the ball uh I think you sort of gota gota ride with it and see how it see how it plays out and we’re not going to know any of this you know really until the game start right because you not going to know until it really counts when everybody the starters are going what exactly how this is going to look and what for how this is going to look specifically as it relates to Justin Herbert but um you know these guys know I don’t I don’t think I mean they know what they have at quarterback and they I think they’re that’s why they’re not trading him by the way yeah yeah yeah and I I think you know it seems ridiculous to think I I you know I can’t imagine week three we’re going to be asking Greg Roman when are you gonna start throwing the ball more like or when are you gonna go to her like I can’t imagine it’s going to come to that just seems so ridiculous um I I think to be honest with I think is we’re going to see with Herbert is more than game in game out massive numbers throwing the ball a bunch all over the place going crazy I think what’s going to Define him and this team they’re what they’re gonna need more than like 60 Minutes of like crazy Justin Herbert they’re going to need him in those key moments to come through with a play which I think we all know he can do and maybe if he isn’t asked to do it so much throughout the course of an entire game week after week you know he’ll have he’ll be able to I don’t want to say pick his spots but it it’ll be more it’ll look more like those Elite game-winning last you know late game play guys who make the play that we’ve seen you know the Patrick Mahomes type plays that he makes all the time I I think that’s going to be what Justin Herbert’s season is going to be and what this in this offense is it’s going to be more about when that they really need him to win a game if he can make that play and we like I said we’ve seen him do it so I think that’s probably what this is going to ultimately be with him is is you know we’re going to see more of that than you know have the huge monster you know games where he’s player of the week like when he was a rookie and kept winning that Pepsi award every week and all that stuff another one another one I think it’s going to be more of like okay you know we needed him to make this play on this down in this moment and then if he makes that play he everyone’s going to be there’s Justin Herbert doing his thing and um so but the thing to keep in mind though too is that no Keenan Allen no Mike Williams those are you know you know in the the tight end situation right now is you know there that’s another and this this offense they’re not going to throw to the running backs so we’re not going to see it’s there’s no Austin ecklers I mean they don’t you look at the stats of these guys who play the the Ravens they don’t they don’t throw to the backs very often so um it’s going to be you know the numbers are going to be affected too a little bit by what’s around him I think especially this season it looks like last one for you Jeff it’s time for a Jeff Miller seal of approval want to get your overall Maybe not maybe not which which by the way I want to point out has absolutely zero value is worth nothing absolutely nothing on that on that moment that I’m really happy for you to give your Jeff Miller seal of approval on this but uh let’s start with overall draft grade you can give it whatever letter you’d like and then because I know it’s been a while since we have had you here on the show since the Jim Harbaugh Joe Ortiz this entire staff just give a general grade for the offseason for the Chargers well I the the you know I think Dan I can’t one of you guys mentioned earlier I can’t find a negative word about the Charger draft I don’t know if you guys have seen anything is anybody um so that’s why and you and you also look at the fun part for me the fun part for me is comparing the Chargers drafts like just look at the nine picks take a screenshot and then compare those to others where I’m like wow like this looks good so they’re all you know so I can’t you know I I think I I had to do not for the LA times for somebody else I had to do do a thing and I think I gave him an A minus just because I I’m one of those teachers that doesn’t like to give A’s I guess I want to you got to strip for more kid so uh dangling the carrot Mr Jeff Miller but you know if these guys who make a living doing this and studying the draft and deep diving into every player and know the you know these this is you know this is the guys they do they their their life is doing the NFL draft and they all think it was great and they’re all saying a you know B+ are the worst you know a a minus I got to go a you know I’ll stick with my a minus because it’s like like I said there you know there there there just wasn’t one pick where you hesitated and thought for a second like wait what was that I mean they all made sense they they all were positions that I mean every one of these guys you know has a shot to play you know there’s a path for these guys to play now they’re all not going to play they’re not going to go seven or nine for nine okay let’s be real but and and like I said there’s no there’s no Trey pipkins a few years ago who we know this guy’s going to have to this is a project it’s going to take him a few years and there was certainly no JT Woods where it’s like you know reach none of those guy there was none of that so they I from what I can tell and what everybody else is saying they I think they nailed it pretty pretty good and overall the off seon seon sorry D um so yeah overall you know the the Chargers won and I hate to say they won the offseason whatever the Chargers won you know if you can win the offseason when they HED Harbaugh like it seems like that everything changed that everything about this franchise changed when they were able to get that done when they committed the money to it they were you know I I don’t know if they had to convince him to leave Michigan I kind of doubt it I mean I think he knew that what you know what else can he do there he had you know he had won at his Elma moer I it’s not going to get any better than that um and uh and everything is but you guys know everything Everything’s changed now there’s all of a sudden there’s charger fans all over the place because they’re Michigan fans let’s be honest they you know there you know they they they hired a guy from a super popular program that everyone loves because of what just happened everybody in Michigan loves this guy now all those people are are fans of the Chargers because they they they love harball so they love the Chargers and now they’re all Justin Herbert fans and everything has changed like the whole the the perception of this team the perception of ownership like all of that changed the moment they sent out that tweet that we’ve hired our guy you know they they hir so you know losing Keenan Allen crushing losing Mike Williams stinks but you know it’s hard to look at this as anything other than a victory because just because of really and I hate to just put it all on one guy but that’s what’s happened here and that’s what they’ve done they’ve just they’ve given this over to to him completely and you know it’s you know I’ve got to give him an a I guess just I mean you I don’t know no A+ obviously Jeff can’t give a plus he doesn’t give those no that does not exist uh but like I don’t think so I guess think of it this way like the roster right now I you could certainly make the argument that they’re not they got they step back like they’re you know they have they got rid of their two best wide receivers they got rid of their you know the receiving tight end they got rid of a guy who scored a million touchdowns and Austin Eckler they they got you know they lost both their starting linebackers you know they’re the middle of their interior line there’s some questions there you really didn’t talk about that but a little bit there you know the defense the whole thing is some questions does anybody think they’re not going to be better they were last year like everybody thinks they’re going to be better right that’s coaching yeah and that’s and that’s kind of the trickle down of Jim Harbaugh right like it’s kind of like once Jim Harbaugh happened the rest was able to exist like if there was no Jim Harbaugh it’s probably no Joe hortiz no Jim Harbaugh no Jesse M no Jim harbon no Ben Herbert like the whole nine and so you’re right like everything starts at the Top If You know whoever had been if it had been Mike MC McDonald if it had been uh Raheem Morris who you know any one of these other coaches you know a firsttime guy or a guy who’ done it and maybe been okay not great uh Dan Quinn who obviously had some you know got a team to the Super Bowl but again it it change the whole what you you get a guy who we know Super Bowl we know can get to the conference Championship game three times in four years is the only time he did this in the NFL who just won a national championship it took him now don’t forget it took him nine years you know there it took a little while at Michigan don’t forget they with Michigan State at one point then they couldn’t beat Michigan their Ohio State then they couldn’t win the Big 10 then you know then they couldn’t win a playoff game well it all took it took a while so we should be expecting them to win the Super Bowl in the next two years but we should be expecting them to be better and right now they’re I think right now they’re as bad as they’re probably going to be under Jim Harbaugh and it’s only going to go up from here so um yeah I I I just think when hiring him it changed everything and answered all those questions all that stuff about coaching was gone now we know we can manage a game now watch they’ll screw up the first week week one there’ll be some weird don’t you put on on don’t you put that on them Ricky Bobby don’t you do that don’t you do that Jeff Miller all that stuff’s gone like we know the offensive coordinators done it the defensive coordinators done it like there’s no you know there’s they’ve got a really good special teams coordinator you know they’ve got guys there’s you know there’s experience all over the place on the coaching staff you know they’ve got this Elite strength coach now um uh you know I you know really to me like this is probably it’s kind of one of those things if you’re going to get the Chargers this is probably the year to do it because I think they’re going you know I don’t I think this they’re just going to keep getting better and and we’ll see where it goes but it’s you know there’s no reason not to think that this is you know this can’t end well really well for the Chargers and their fans Jeff Miller bringing in uh fire this entire time jefff I appreciate your perspective I feel like I talked a lot do you are you guys like I’m GNA get off this you’re like God damn you wouldn’t shut up like stop talking no I mean honestly I think that’s part of the reason we have you on the show is so we don’t have to talk as much you’re not gonna believe it I’m usually the guy that like sits here quietly and listens and then says something and then see this is your revenge this is your revenge tge just like for all that time that I have to just sit there and go like this the entire time now it’s my turn to talk so see this is this is just you getting back at the system I just get out of my system my goodness yes yes but honestly uh so much goodness and I think you’re right like to kind of close this thing out a lot of times with new head coaches and new regimes there’s a lot of undercutting that happens where they come in immediately the first question is oh can they succeed are they going to be able to do this and they question their ability to lead to coach to mentor to implement but you can’t do that in this new era with Chargers football and even with a guy like a Dan Quinn there’s a bunch of questions about like can he win or is it more than just Jim Harbaugh is kind of an enigma in the sense of it breaks a lot of the typical Trends you see in new coaching cycles and how public reporters folks like yourself when you’re questioning there’s there’s a lot of I don’t say undercutting but there’s a lot of uh wait and see that is unproven that Jim Harbaugh just doesn’t have to deal with and the players and staff probably all all are all in line because of that no I think you’re 100% right I’m surprised um that more teams didn’t and maybe it could have just been they knew hey the Char and he’s gonna go to he’s going to go take the quarterback I mean it may have been that simple because I’m surprised more teams I thought there’d be more of I thought the Chargers had to battle a little more to get him honestly so yeah Jeff uh what do you got going on the next couple weeks I know they got mini camps and training campsas and all that kind of stuff coming up uh what’s going on in your life yeah so we got a rookie mini camp next week which will be uh um interesting it’s always fun to see these guys and especially these undrafted guys and see what they look like and some there’s always some guy that you go wow that guy’s bigger than I thought you know what’s funny um JK Dobbins the other day okay excellent interview by the way excellent interview like I think Dan you te tweeted right like you would talk to that guy for five minutes it’s like I want this guy to win like this guy’s great like you have root for the guy like he’s so honest and he’s like openly admitting yeah like people should think I’m injury-prone I me I I’ve been injury-prone so but walked in like he’s a munchkin like he was so short like I could not believe I thought like I I I had my head I never i’ had never seen him in person I thought he was like a bigger guy and he walked in I was like he’s my height he’s actually five he’s 5’10 I guess he’s a couple inches taller than me but so that just got me when I mentioned the undrafted guys you see them you know what they you know you kind of get a sense I so whatever I see next weekend I’m not gonna let it Tain my a guy’s not as big as I think he should be because that’s a guy who was not as big as I thought he was gonna be and he’s obviously had some success but uh um yeah so the biggest thing right now is just you know it’s going to be that the rookies next week and we get to see them a little bit and uh so that’s always interesting and it’s always fun to see these guys he just got drafted and I I always love it because they show up and they’re kind of the big man you know because it’s all rookies and then in a few weeks when the the Char The Varsity shows up all of a sudden those guys are kind of like oh yeah I forgot like they go from they go from Seniors to freshman real quick yeah it’s kind of like yeah remember we all wanted to talk to you last week we never mind now we’re gonna wait till like week three of training camp we’ll come back and talk to you again but you could just go do your thing be your rookie right now because we got all these other guys we’re gonna talk to so yeah other than yeah Jeff you’re the best man honestly I can’t wait to see if you have’t given him a follow please Jeff Miller L right on X uh does a bunch of Articles go check out please subscribe does a lot of great work uh Jeff you are always welcome on the show fan of the show uh thank you so much for doing this man we love you oh I love it love working with you guys you know I’m fans of you guys so you know I’m here anytime uh anytime you need me and I know Jeff Miller is making us blush you’re on charge of the leash what is this I and I I Do by the way like I’m not oblivious like I did notice you got some other the writers on before me but that’s okay I’m not gonna take it personal I just you save the best for last sometimes I I just uh I’m here for you I’ll do whatever the one thing I I uh my ego is like fits in my pocket like I I’ll you want me to go you you whatever last minute you need somebody you know I’m not I don’t take it personal I I’ll do I’m here for you you the best man thank you man uh for Jeff for Jake Dan W on here charges unleash Network thank you so much we’ll talk to you next on Chargers Unleashed