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2015 NFL Mock Draft: San Diego Chargers Select DT Malcom Brown at No. 17

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

With the No. 17 pick in the DBN 2015 NFL Mock Draft, the San Diego Chargers select...

Malcom Brown, DT, Texas

The selection and write-up were made by Crawford_T:

The San Diego Chargers enter the NFL draft with several areas of need. These include O-line, D-line, pass rusher, and RB. By adding Orlando Franklin in Free Agency the Chargers have made it so O-line is not a much draft in the 1st round, the hole at RG can be filled in later rounds as I don't see it as good value here. OLB is also a need, as Melvin Ingram can't seem to stay healthy. All the top pass rusher prospects are off the board however, so the Chargers will hope Ingram can stay healthy and that Attaochu develops, though an OLB will probably be drafted for depth at some point. RB is not a position I will draft in the 1st round, and there are plenty of options for the Chargers in later rounds in this draft class. The other major need for the Chargers is at the Defensive line.

In 2014 the Chargers struggled defending against the run, allowing 4.5 yards per carry (29th in the league) and 124.1 yards per game (26th in the league). They also struggled in rushing the passer, getting only 26 sacks all season (29th in the league again). These numbers are not a recipe for success.

This is where Malcom Brown comes in. A big man with surprising athleticism, Brown is also highly versatile, capable of playing just about any position on a defensive front. His athleticism and movement skills make him difficult to single block, and he has shown good vision in tracking ball carriers while engaging O-linemen. While not quite agile or developed enough to be a consistent pass rushing threat, he has shown the ability to be a stout run defender while still making occasional plays in the backfield.

Brown should be able to start immediately, probably a DE in the 3-4 base and DT in the nickel alongside Corey Luiget. While he most likely won’t put up monster numbers, I suspect he will make his presence felt in defending the run early on and will be able to occasionally pressure QB’s up the middle.

I think the Chargers would be foolish to try to part ways with QB Philip Rivers, but that will be a draft day storyline I have my eye on. Not factoring in that option, the Chargers are a difficult team to predict who they will select. That's what happens when your club teeters on playoff contention with a good quarterback, but could still use upgrades at several positions. Brown seems like a good choice.

The Kansas City Chiefs are up next, led by JamesPowell.

2015 DBN Community Mock Draft Results (so far)

Pick Team Player Position School Username
1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jameis Winston QB Florida State BuenosAires_Dawg
2 Tennessee Titans Marcus Mariota
QB
Oregon
scott tizzle
3 Jacksonville Jaguars Vic Beasley
DE/OLB
Clemson
Legoman0721
4 Oakland Raiders Amari Cooper
WR
Alabama
makeaplay59
5 Washington Redskins Leonard Williams
DE
USC
michael.hamper
6 New York Jets Dante Fowler
OLB
Florida
aszabo1
7 Chicago Bears Kevin White
WR
West Virginia
Barnestorm
8 Atlanta Falcons Melvin Gordon
RB
Wisconsin
OhioCityBrownsBeliever
9 New York Giants Randy Gregory
DE
Nebraska
Bizono
10 St. Louis Rams DeVante Parker
WR
Louisville
Ted Washington's Belly
11 Minnesota Vikings Trae Waynes
CB
Michigan St.
MConley17
12 Cleveland Browns Bud Dupree
OLB
Kentucky
Adam Rice
13 New Orleans Saints Shane Ray
DE/OLB
Missouri
TuckJob
14 Miami Dolphins Arik Armstead
DT
Oregon
Brocolis154033
15 San Francisco 49ers Brandon Scherff
OL
Iowa
Manly and Loving It
16 Houston Texans Brett Hundley
QB
UCLA
troy145
17 San Diego Chargers Malcom Brown
DT
Texas
Crawford_T
18 Kansas City Chiefs


JamesPowell
19 Cleveland Browns


Royce Groff
20 Philadelphia Eagles


Matt Wood
21 Cincinnati Bengals


styrofoamboots
22 Pittsburgh Steelers


Marquess of Rockingham
23 Detroit Lions


tmptplayer
24 Arizona Cardinals


a2342432a
25 Carolina Panthers


PaduaDSP
26 Baltimore Ravens


unoservix
27 Dallas Cowboys


Twilightcall06
28 Denver Broncos


Maverick Hunter X
29 Indianapolis Colts


Mudville
30 Green Bay Packers


syndrome
31 New Orleans Saints


pt_999
32 New England Patriots


stravaille