2011 NFL Mock Draft: Beefing Up the Defensive Front is Priority No. 1 for San Diego:

When you lead the NFL in offensive and defensive yardage and don’t make the playoffs, there’s something awfully wrong. For San Diego, it’s starting too slow. They’ve gotten away with it in recent years, still winning the AFC West and entering the playoffs as a dangerous team.

But things changed in 2010 when the Chargers couldn’t overcome their sluggish start and missed the playoffs altogether.

The plus side to this is that San Diego already knows that it can be an elite team and is still fairly high in the draft order. They can use that favorable draft position to aid the front of its 3-4 defense.

Grabbing Muhammad Wilkerson out of Temple to play the five-technique would give the Chargers another player ready to rotate right away. Wilkerson has limited game tape, which has some scouts weary of him. But in his time on the field, Wilkerson was dominant in college.

Wilkerson can eat up blocks to free up other players as well as make the plays himself.

It’s seems very likely that the Chargers will go with a defensive end, whether that’s Wilkerson or not. Missouri’s Aldon Smith, Purdue’s Ryan Kerrigan and Ohio State’s Cameron Heyward will all get long hard looks from San Diego as well.

Wilkerson, however, looks like he will be the best talent available at 18th overall and truly fits San Diego’s system the best of those names.

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