Which Rookies Can Make an Immediate Impact?

Yep, as Lindsey alludes to, Joe Alt is the obvious choice here.

I’d also put Ladd McConkey and Junior Colson in that category, too.

McConkey is part of a crowded wide receiver room but is polished as a route runner and had plenty of quickness, so I expect him to became fast friends with Justin Herbert.

Colson, as we all know, played for Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh and Chargers Defensive Coordinator at Michigan. He enters the NFL with a strong baseline knowledge of the Bolts defensive scheme and potential starting spots at linebacker.

With those three guys off the board, I’m going to go with Brenden Rice, the seventh-round wide receiver out of USC.

Rice joins a very crowded wide receiver room that features Joshua Palmer, Quentin Johnston, DJ Chark and numerous others.

But with roster spots up for grabs, he certainly has an opportunity to carve out a role for himself early on.

I’m not going to sit here and predict he becomes a 1,000-yard receiver as a rookie or anything. But there’s no reason to believe Rice can’t make the 53-man roster and then contribute early and often in his first year.

Perhaps Rice shouldn’t be viewed as a true underdog given his production last season (12 touchdown catches) or his bloodlines (you’ve probably heard of his dad), but we’ll go with him here because he ended up being a seventh-round pick.

I initially wanted a WR at 5 instead of OL. But after some thought, I can see why we took Alt. (Brian via email)

I tried to tell you guys! (sarcasm font)

Look, I have no doubt the Chargers had that trio of wide receivers ranked high on their board entering the draft.

But Alt was also a highly-prized prospect, too, and the clear No. 1 player at his position.

And when Harbaugh and Chargers GM Joe Hortiz spent three months telling us that they want to build the Bolts through the trenches, it was all right there in front of us.

To…