In the first round, the Chargers selected cornerback Jason Verrett from Texas Christian.
A 5-9, 178-pound native of Fairfield in Northern California, Verrett was a highly-decorated three-year starter at TCU. As a senior in 2013, he was the Big 12 Conference’s co-Defensive Player of the Year, a consensus second-team All-America and a first-team All-Big 12 pick. One of the nation’s top cover cornerbacks, opposing quarterbacks rarely challenged Verrett during his senior season at TCU as only 52 passes were thrown in his direction and only 17 were completed. As a result, he finished the year with 39 tackles, 14 passes defensed and a pair of interceptions. He finished his career at TCU with 160 tackles, nine interceptions and 35 passes defensed. As a freshman in 2010, Verrett was a first-team All-NorCal Conference pick at Santa Rosa Junior College.
He became the fourth former TCU Horned Frog drafted by the Chargers in team history and the first since 2001 when the Chargers drafted LaDainian Tomlinson in the first round with the fifth overall selection.
In the second round, the Chargers made a trade with Miami to move up seven spots to No. 50 overall to select Georgia Tech outside linebacker Jerry Attaochu (uh-TAU-chew).
The Chargers sent the Dolphins their pick in the second round (No. 57) and their fourth-round selection (No. 125) for the right to move up. It marked the second time in two years that Chargers General Manager Tom Telesco traded his second and fourth-round picks to move up in the second round. Last year, he traded the Chargers’ second (45) and fourth-round (110) picks to Arizona to move up and select linebacker Manti Te’o with the 38th overall pick.
Attaochu, 6-3, 252 pounds, was a three-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference pick at Georgia Tech, a first-team selection as a senior and an honorable mention pick as a sophomore and junior. He also was a third-team All-America by the Associated Press as a senior. Attaochu was a three-year starter for the Yellow Jackets who finished his career with a school-record 31.5 sacks, 43.5 tackles for loss, 196 total tackles and four forced fumbles. As a junior in 2012, Attaochu racked up 69 tackles, 10 sacks and 12 tackles for loss and as a senior, he set career highs with 12.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss.
The 21-year-old Attaochu was born in Ibadan, Nigeria, before his family moved to the United States and settled in Washington, D.C. A science, technology and culture major at Georgia Tech, Attaochu prepped at Archbishop John Carroll High School in our nation’s capital.
In the third round with the 89th overall selection, the Chargers selected left guard Chris Watt from Notre Dame. He was a three-year starter and a two-time first-team All-Independent Football Bowl Subdivision pick for the Fighting Irish.
Watt (6-2, 311) was part of an offensive line that allowed just eight sacks in 2013, tied for second-fewest in the nation. In 2012, he started all 13 games as Notre Dame went 12-1 and played Alabama in the National Championship game. One of his teammates on that team was Te’o. During that 2012 season, Notre Dame’s offensive line allowed just 16 total sacks and they cleared holes for their running backs to amass more than 200 yards in seven games, their most such efforts since 1996. Watt moved into the starting lineup as a redshirt sophomore in 2011 and started all 13 games for the Irish at left guard.
A 23-year-old native of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, Watt earned All-America honors as a prep at Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn. He has an older brother, Kevin, who played defensive end at Northwestern from 2007-11. Watt earned a degree in marketing at Notre Dame.
Watt is the 18th former Notre Dame Fighting Irish player to be drafted by the Chargers. It’s the second-most players drafted from a single school in team history.
In the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft, the Chargers selected defensive tackle Ryan Carrethers from Arkansas State. A two-time All-Sun Belt Conference pick, the 6-1, 333-pounder finished his collegiate career with 196 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. As a senior, Carrethers blocked two kicks, including a 38-yarder with no time remaining to secure a 23-20 victory for the Red Wolves over Ball State in the GoDaddy Bowl. Carrethers’ 93 tackles during his senior season were third-most in the nation among defensive linemen.
A 23-year old native of Nashville, Tennessee, Carrethers played football and competed in wrestling at Brentwood Academy. It’s the same high school that Chargers left tackle King Dunlap attended.
Carrethers is the first player from Arkansas State to be drafted by the Chargers.
In the sixth round, the Chargers added to their stable of running backs with the selection of Marion Grice from Arizona State. A 6-0, 208-pounder, Grice was a second-team All-Pac-12 pick and an honorable mention All-America choice by several publications as a senior.
A 21-year-old native of Houston, Texas, Grice spent his first two collegiate seasons at Blinn (Tex.) College, before transferring to ASU for his final two seasons. As a Sun Devil, Grice scored 39 career touchdowns, fourth-most in school history, while totaling 3,045 all-purpose yards on rushes, receptions and kickoff returns. As a senior, Grice led the team with 1,941 all-purpose yards (second-most in school history) and he was the only NCAA FBS player in the nation with at least 400 yards in each of the previously-mentioned categories. In two seasons at ASU, Grice scored 234 points, most-ever by a Sun Devil in a two-year span. As a junior, his eight touchdown catches were the most in the nation by a running back.
Grice is the 10th former Arizona State player to be drafted by the Chargers.
The Bolts closed out the draft with the selection of wide receiver Tevin Reese from Baylor in the seventh round, a three-time All-Big 12 Conference pick, including first-team as a senior.
The 5-10, 170-pound Reese is a 23-year-old native of Temple, Texas. In four seasons at Baylor, he caught 187 passes for 3,102 yards and 24 touchdowns, leaving Waco as the school’s third-leading receiver in all three categories. Reese scored 21 of his 24 touchdowns on plays of 40 yards-or-longer, the most in NCAA history. A truly explosive player, the average length of his 24 touchdowns was 50.6 yards and nine of his touchdowns were on plays of 60 yards-or-longer.
Nicknamed “Sweet Feet,” Reese prepped at Temple (Tex.) High School. He was an all-district wide receiver and kick returner, and a state qualifier in track and field as both a jumper and hurdler.
Reese becomes the third Baylor Bear to be drafted by the Chargers all-time.
Below is a complete list of the Chargers’ 2014 draft class.
Round No. Player Position School
1 25 Jason Verrett Cornerback Texas Christian
2 50 Jerry Attaochu Outside Linebacker Georgia Tech
3 89 Chris Watt Guard Notre Dame
5 165 Ryan Carrethers Defensive Tackle Arkansas State
6 201 Marion Grice Running Back Arizona State
7 240 Tevin Reese Wide Receiver Baylor
The San Diego Chargers agreed to contract terms with 17 undrafted rookie free agents today:
D.J. Adams, RB, Portland State
Torrence Allen, WR, West Texas A & M
Brelan Chancellor, WR, North Texas
Alden Darby, S, Arizona State
Chris Davis, CB, Auburn
Greg Ducre, CB, Washington
Michael Flacco, TE, New Haven
D.J. Johnson, G, New Mexico
Micah Hatfield, WR, Oregon State
Javontee Herndon, WR, Arkansas
Tenny Palepoi, DL, Utah
Alvin Scioneaux, LB, Wofford, S.C.
Jeremiah Sirles, T, Nebraska
Chase Tenpenny, P, Nevada
Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe, DL, Boise State
Colton Underwood, LB, Illinois State
Ian White, T, Boston College
