You shouldn’t evaluate an NFL draft until at least a couple of years after it happens. That does not mean you can’t evaluate the drafters.

The Chargers, Patriots, Colts, Steelers and a few other elite teams have earned the benefit of the doubt. They could pick Mr. Bean in the draft and you’d say, “Well, that seems like a bit of a reach but there must be a master plan here.”

San Diego took Arizona cornerback Antoine Cason (below) in the first round. He’s the ex-Los Alamitos High star who has been very much in evidence the past few years, especially against USC and UCLA. There is the usual scouting gobbledegook about whether he turns his hips properly, but he’s a proven playmaker, which is what the Chargers go on. They generally want producers, not computer printouts.

With Antonio Cromartie and Quentin Jammer, cornerback wasn’t a great need, but Cason can also play safety, and you can never get enough coverage people. 

General manager A.J. Smith could have taken a wide receiver, but then he must have read Coldhardfootballfacts.com, the outstanding website that, last week, pointed out that only 12 wide receivers, of the 51 taken in first rounds since 1996, have become stars. The Chargers prefer to wait until a receiver proves himself elsewhere. Their first WR “pick” was Chris Chambers, whom they got from Miami.

The Chargers have drafted themselves into complete dominance of the AFC West and they are probably the early favorite to win the AFC Championship this year. With a guy like Smith making the calls, they’re always innocent until proven guilty on Draft Day.

–Mark Whicker, The Orange County Register