National Football League

Chargers pick running back, guard in sixth round

Published May. 1, 2011 2:04 a.m. ET

foxsports

With only a handful of picks in the latter rounds of Saturday's NFL draft, the Chargers went with a running back who can also return kicks, an offensive lineman and an inside linebacker.

San Diego took Connecticut running back Jordan Todman with the 183rd pick overall.

Todman was the Big East offensive player of the year last season after rushing for 1,695 yards and 14 touchdowns on 334 carries. The junior, 5-foot-9 and 193 pounds, is known as a slasher. He also caught 42 passes for 283 yards in his 37-game career.

''He had production as an every down back in a prostyle system,'' said Chargers director of college scouting John Spanos. ''He has a lot going for him. We had him graded higher than where we took him. We were excited he was there where we were picking.''

The Chargers used a second sixth-round pick on Michigan guard Stephen Schilling, who played both tackle and guard. Six-foot-four and 308 pounds, Schilling made 49 starts.

''Tough, physical guy,'' Spanos said. ''I know he'll get a chance to play both tackle and guard.''

San Diego's final pick of the draft - Missouri linebacker Andrew Gachkar, chosen 234th with a compensatory pick - had 84 tackles, including 8 1/2 for a loss. An outside linebacker in college, Gachkar, 6-2 and 231, will start out at inside linebacker.

''He's a great special teams player,'' Spanos said.

Poor special teams ailed the Chargers (9-7) last year, and coach Norv Turner said several of the eight players drafted could help those units.

In all, the Chargers took five defenders, starting with Illinois lineman Corey Liuget, the 18th pick. San Diego State wide receiver Vincent Brown, taken in the third round, was the first of San Diego's three offensive players drafted.

''We made a strong emphasis on productive players - productive football players that have played at a high level,'' Turner said. ''And then, certainly those guys that can not only be productive at their position, but can carry over to our kicking game. I think we've added a lot of speed on our team, and particularly to our backup group that will be key players on our kicking game.''

Todman returned a kickoff 96 yards as a sophomore and averaged 5.2 yards per carry in his career, but Turner said he wasn't drafted as a replacement to Darren Sproles, a running back/return man. Turner said he is ''very interested'' in retaining Sproles, an unrestricted free agent.

At outside linebacker, the Chargers don't have an established pass-rusher to pair with linebacker Shaun Phillips, their sack leader in 2009 and 2010. The two linebackers they drafted were outside linebackers in college but will line up inside for the Chargers.

''We would have liked to have addressed it,'' Spanos said. ''But sometimes you can't control who's there when you're picking. We want to take the best guys that are there with each pick. We're not going to take a guy solely based on need. We want to make sure we get value out of each pick, and unfortunately it didn't work out to address that need.''