NFL Undrafted Free Agents: Is Safety DeAndre McDaniel a Good Fit in San Diego?

DeAndre McDaniel is one of the best players that somehow went undrafted this year. It's really unfathomable as to how no team selected McDaniel throughout the entire seven-round draft. He was a star safety at Clemson in his college career and is definitely an NFL-caliber safety.

McDaniel could have possibly been the second best safety in this year's draft, second to UCLA's Rahim Moore, and some could argue that McDaniel is a better prospect than Moore. 

McDaniel has all the tools to be a play-making, superstar-type safety. He has great size, strength, decent speed, tackling ability, coverage skills and ball skills. He doesn't get beat on plays much, if at all. He has the physical aspect of the game, as well as the mental, and he would be a great addition to the Chargers and their future.

San Diego doesn't have that young, stud safety they need to take their defense to the next level. Weddle isn't bad by any means—actually he's quite good—but he's not a game-changer or a player that the opposing offense has to specifically game plan for, like that of Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed. 

While I'm not saying McDaniel is Polamalu or Reed, he has the talent to be like them in the future. Learning under former NFL Defensive Player of the Year and Pro Bowler Bob Sanders would be great for him and his development as a player.

Every fan of football knows that the Chargers needed to upgrade their special teams this offseason, and they made strides to do so during the draft by selecting players that can fill a role. McDaniel was a fantastic special-teamer at Clemson, which should only add to his value. He wouldn't be a starting safety in his first season, so the immediate impact from him would be on kick and punt coverage. 

The only possible reason as to why he wasn't drafted was because in June of 2008, McDaniel was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and battery. 

According to ESPN.com:

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"Clemson safety DeAndre McDaniel has been arrested on charges he covered his girlfriend's head with a comforter and began choking her."

"The incident report says a woman identified as McDaniel's girlfriend said the sophomore also punched her in the head, face and chest, and pushed her down a flight of stairs."

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No team in the league overlooked this news story and this could have been why he didn't get drafted.

Since then, he has had a clean record and some people have different opinions on what actually happened between McDaniel and his girlfriend. Multiple witnesses close to the situation described the woman leaving McDaniel's presence unharmed and under her own power. Thus, the character issues spectators continue to talk about may not be as severe as people think.

The Chargers should not sit back and watch this talent sign with a different team. McDaniel needs to have a lightning bolt on his helmet and he would be a great steal as an undrafted free-agent signing.