Nick Canepa: Jim Harbaugh's fingerprints all over first Chargers draft

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Sez Me …

The Real NFL Draft begins on Day 2. When Super Bowl fat is put on. The best franchises keep eating. Their stomachs never get full.

The first round is the gravy poured over the meat. It exposes the desperate and the foolish. It scratches the head.

Defense wins championships. And yet 14 straight offensive players were taken atop Thursday's Round 1, six of them quarterbacks. One, Michael Penix, went to Atlanta, which just signed 35-year-old Kirk Cousins to a three-year, $100-million-guaranteed deal.

I like Penix plenty. But he's 24 and Cousins isn't sitting for a while. This was not a win-now pick. Since Penix hasn't taken a snap, we can't know if he's even a win-in-the-future pick.

Guaranteed Cousins hates it. And probably the locker room. One of the great draft risks I've seen.

Still, it is a quarterback world. You aren't winning without a competent one. But you don't need to reach for your Elway. Desperation only can take you so far.

The 49ers' highly successful quarterback was Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy, the last player taken in the 2022 NFL Draft — who moved on to fourth in 2023 MVP voting.

Quarterback is at once the most important and dangerous high pick in any draft. They bust. A lot. And nothing affects an organization more than a first-round QB failure.

If a Mr. Irrelevant is passionate about playing with the big kids, he's much better off not getting drafted, what with best teams usually drafting late. Nearly 500 undrafted free agents were on 2023 opening-day rosters. Fifty undrafted free agents are in the Hall of Fame.

Mr. Irrelevants are lucky to even get into a Super Bowl city, Brock being the greatest exception. Most M.I.'s are sons or very close to franchise mucky-mucks, who return favors. Because they know that pick has a one-in-a-billion chance to have any effect on the future of their franchise.

Anyway, trying to remember we have no idea how any player's skills will translate to NFL language, let's have a peek at the draft of the NFL Team That Used To Be Here — you know, the Judases/L.A. Lodgers — under the new management of coach Jim Harbaugh and GM Joe Hortiz.

This draft had Harbaugh's breath all over it. He values toughness. He gets his football food from stockyards, not gardens.

Jim's top priority was to protect and help quarterback Justin Herbert, and with the fifth overall pick the Judases took enormous Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt. With their second round choice, they took Georgia receiver Ladd McConkey, who can catch passes anywhere and help the offense get over the loss of top wideouts Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.

In Friday's third round, Harbaugh got linebacker Junior Colson, his tackling machine at Michigan, and in the fourth, defensive tackle Justin Eboigbe from Alabama, a run-stopper.

They had two fifth-round picks and took Maryland corner Tarheeb Still and large Notre Dame corner Cam Hart. In the sixth, they went for Troy tailback Kimani Vidal, who hits holes hard, as the great-nephew of Hank Aaron should. And the seventh went to USC's 12-touchdown receiver, Brenden Rice, who isn't dad Jerry, but not without skill.

Get the picture? Harbaugh teams control the ball and play defense. Games are won up front and that's how he operates. Protect the passer, run the ball, and stop people. If it's old school, it works. Miami has a track team. What has it won?

The Chiefs won when they were fast and when they got slower. Their constants have been quarterback and up front.

"Offensive linemen, we look at as weapons," Harbaugh said. "The tip of the spear."

It's a QB league and they can't succeed throwing from their backs. A record 17 offensive tackles were taken in the first three rounds, and Harbaugh may have gotten the best one in Alt. With the first three overall picks being quarterbacks, and the fourth a wide receiver, Harbaugh had his pick of every other player in America.

Of course, tackle is one of the toughest positions to judge, so there are no guarantees. No guarantees anywhere. There is no anti-bust radar.

Every team will say they love their draft. Everyone is full of it. Can't judge a meal until it's been eaten. But I don't like pretty food. …

Reggie Bush is the greatest football player to grace a college lawn since Eli Yale's Pudge Heffelfinger. The return of Reggie's Heisman shouldn't have happened. It never should have been taken away. …

The NCAA is not affiliated with the Heisman. …

Did Bush ever really return it? I know for a time his trophy was gathering dust in the Breitbard Hall of Champions. …

Really? Caleb Williams' crying a big deal? Michael Jordan cried Niagara tears. Yeah, Mike was a baby. …

Defenders chasing Caleb? Not a dry eye on that side of scrimmage. …

ESPN made a freshman mistake putting its main draft table in the middle of band and crowd noise. NFL Network was smarter. …

Know who else cries? The Padres when they get into scoring position. Thought it was Bob Melvin's fault. …

I cry. When Padres get into scoring position. …

Congratulations to the Washington Commanders (I hate that nickname). During the draft process the Commanders' commanders didn't lie. They just didn't say anything. Very disappointing. Are we sure they represent Washington? …

The greatest problem solvers on earth are quarterbacks. And all too often they become the greatest problem to solve. …

Tailback-impaired Dallas is talking to Ezekiel Elliott. Because he's lonely? …

Cowboys probably are asking Zeke, never a rocket, if he's found the two steps he's lost. …

Tom Brady not only was drafted 199th overall by the Pats, he was a compensatory pick. The NFL no longer should allow any team to draft 199th. …

The Eagles extend wideout A.J. Brown for three years and $96 million. Guaranteed. Receivers do not win Super Bowls. They are pretty bows on a brown paper package. Great for A.J., though. …

The Falcons moved up in the second round while coach Raheem Morris was on the phone with Cousins and Penix informing them the pick was going to be used on a quarterback. …

Why is it that draft experts put so much weight on Combine 40s and then on draft day say: "Forget his 40 time. The kid's a baller"? …

Those who say this is a playoffs-or-bust season for A.J. Preller should stop the wishing. He's playoff-or-bust proof. …

Blake Snell is a risky proposition. Right now he's Snelling. …

Going into Saturday's game, the White Sox Mendozas were batting .198 as a team. Embarrassing or shameful to the game? Both. …

Happy 90th, Shirley MacLaine. In the House of Best Actresses Never To Win An Oscar, she's near the top step. …

"No one cares how hard you throw ball four," says a sign at a Little League park. …

Even I can see something's amiss with Joe Musgrove. …

"The sad fact is that it looks more and more as if our great national sport is not playing at all … but watching." — JFK. Right, sir. Now watching their phone screens. …

Nelly Korda. Tigress. …

The last American protest that worked was the Boston Tea Party. And that took time to brew. …

I believe any act by an official is an official act.