Chargers Won't Rule out Taking QB in NFL Draft to Groom Behind Philip Rivers

The Los Angeles Chargers appear set at quarterback with Philip Rivers, but that apparently won't stop them from eyeing another in the upcoming draft.

General manager Tom Telesco appeared Thursday on NFL Network and was asked if he was potentially looking for another signal-caller, per Conor Orr of NFL.com. Telesco replied: "Even though we have our franchise quarterback, we always have to be looking toward the future."

"We're very happy with Philip Rivers, and I think he's got a number of good years left in him," he also remarked, per Orr. "We can win with Philip, and we're happy with him. But since I've arrived here, we've always done a lot of work on the quarterbacks. You just have to."

The Chargers have the No. 7 pick in the draft, which could put them in position to draft someone like Clemson's Deshaun Watson or Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer. Bleacher Report's Matt Miller had North Carolina's Mitchell Trubisky going No. 3 overall in his most recent mock, but Watson and Kizer were still available at No. 7.

However, Orr pointed out adding a rookie quarterback would put even more pressure on new head coach Anthony Lynn, who has to deal with moving the franchise to Los Angeles and rebuilding a team that went 5-11 in 2016.

What's more, the offense was eighth in the league in passing yards per game compared to a defense that finished 29th in the league in scoring defense. Quarterback doesn't seem to be a critical need, especially since Rivers threw for 4,386 yards and 33 touchdowns in 2016.

He is 35 years old, but he has surpassed the 4,000-yard mark the last four years. He doesn't show many signs of slowing down, and Emily Kaplan of The MMQB called the 2017 draft quarterback class "relatively thin."

The Chargers could rely on Rivers in the immediate future and hope to land a quarterback in a deeper future draft class when they don't have other pressing needs.