General manager Tom Telesco said that quarterback Justin Herbert was the No. 1 player on the team's draft board after his junior season at Oregon in 2019.
In an interview with Chargers.com, Telesco credited his scouting staff with identifying elite first-round talent like Pro Bowl defensive end Joey Bosa, All-Pro safety Derwin James, and Herbert, the 2020 Offensive Rookie of the Year.
"If Justin Herbert would have declared the year before, he was the number one guy on our board then," Telesco said. "So, our guys were on him early. They loved him then. It didn't change through his senior year, so we trust those guys to get the work done and have great opinions on players and they've done such a great job."
In 15 starts, Herbert threw for 4,336 yards, just 39 yards shy of breaking Andrew Luck's single-season rookie record. Herbert's 31 passing touchdowns and 396 completions set a rookie record.
Watch the full interview with Telesco below. Among the topics: the feeling entering his ninth draft with the Chargers; how the team has adjusted with no combine and fewer college games in 2020; having nine selections in the 2021 NFL Draft; and attributes the team looks for in a Chargers player.
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