San Diego Chargers Draft Picks: Results, Analysis and Grades

The NFL's finest programming on television outside actual football games is the draft, and tonight marks the 80th annual meeting of teams to select players from the college ranks for their own.

The San Diego Chargers have a total of six selections, the first of which they will make tonight in front of a packed house at Auditorium Theatre in Chicago. Barring a trade, the Bolts will select 17th out of 32 teams. Their top five needs are as follows: running back, edge-rusher, offensive line, defensive line and possibly quarterback.

Philip Rivers, a 2004 first-round pick, will be a topic of heavy discussion going into the night, as his name has been brought up in a speculated trade for the second overall pick held by the Tennessee Titans. The five-time Pro Bowler has one year left remaining on his current contract, and attempts at an extension have fallen flat.

Trading him to the Titans would avoid a contract dispute and possibly secure the new quarterback of the future, but as of today, Rivers is staying in San Diego, according to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter. Schefter made an appearance on ESPN Radio with Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic of Mike & Mike to discuss last-minute draft tidbits, and when the topic of Rivers came up, he confidently stated, "not going anywhere, he's staying in San Diego...that's done."

So for now, all focus will be on the Chargers' draft. Keep it locked right here for updates and analysis on every pick for the next three days. We'll discuss how each player fits in San Diego and what 2015 holds for the Chargers.

Full Breakdown of Chargers' Picks

You can find a full breakdown of all five rounds right here. When the Chargers make a pick, this list will update.

Round 1

Pick No. 15 (from San Francisco): Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin

The Chargers made the first deal of the 2015 draft, trading up two spots with the 49ers to select Gordon.

"

The Chargers gave up a 4th rounder in this year's draft and a 5th rounder next year to move up 2 spots, get their every-down RB in Gordon.

— Eric Williams (@eric_d_williams) May 1, 2015"

With Todd Gurley off the board to St. Louis, it only made sense for the Chargers to go up and get Gordon, but they will now be limited to just four picks, having surrendered a fourth-rounder (for the third year in a row).

He will enter San Diego as the likely favorite to assume the role of featured back that was left vacant by Ryan Mathews' departure. Gordon is a scheme-versatile runner with good size (6'1", 215 lbs) and speed to match, but more importantly, he is ready to play now for the Bolts.

Grade: A-

Round 2

Pick No. 48: Denzel Perryman, ILB, Miami.

Perryman adds some much-needed depth at inside linebacker, where both Donald Butler and Manti Te'o have proven to be somewhat injury-prone. Perryman led Miami with 110 tackles in 2014 and added 108 the year before.

Defensive coordinator John Pagano loves to rotate his players, and Perryman will garner strong early-down consideration. He's not a very big guy at 5'11", 236 pounds, but that didn't stop him from punishing ball-carriers in the run game. This is a good value pick for San Diego at the start of Day 2.

Grade: B+

Round 3

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

Pick No. 83: Craig Mager, CB, Texas State

San Diego's third-round selection is a bit of a head-scratcher. Mager, a four-year starter at Texas State, tested well at the combine, running a 4.44 in the 40-yard dash, which he paired with the third-best broad jump (10'10"). But aside from that, there's not a lot else that stands out.

Mager is as raw as they come, but it seems as though the Chargers feel like they need depth in the secondary, having lost Shareece Wright and Marcus Gilchrist in free agency. Jason Verrett, last year's first-round pick, is also a concern coming off his second shoulder surgery in as many years.

Grade: C

Round 5

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

Pick No. 153: Kyle Emanuel, OLB, North Dakota State

The Chargers had to wait a little more than an hour and a half to make their first selection of Day 3, but it may have been worth it for the Missouri Valley Defensive Player of the Year. Emanuel flat-out dominated the MVC, leading the conference in sacks (19.5) and tackles for loss (32.5) in 2014.

He will compete in training camp to make the team as an outside linebacker, even though he played defensive end at North Dakota State. The team needed depth to replace veterans Jarret Johnson and Dwight Freeney.

Grade: C

Round 6

Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports

Pick No. 192: Darius Philon, DT, Arkansas

San Diego concluded its draft with a fourth defender, this time on the defensive line. Philon is young and inexperienced, having played just two seasons at Arkansas. He was granted draft eligibility as an underclassman and will probably need a few years to develop, but he has a good scenario going for him with the Chargers as a possible rotation player.

If he can demonstrate an ability to get after the passer as an interior rusher, then he may be somebody the team keeps on after training camp.

Grade: B-