LOS ANGELES_Cleveland was a pass. The New York Giants had other needs. Same for the New York Jets. The Browns went with a different defensive back. Denver, Indianapolis, Buffalo, Chicago and San Francisco all said "No," too.
And by the time Arizona, Miami, Tampa Bay and Washington had also passed on Florida State safety, Chargers general manager Tom Telesco and Derwin James began to think the same thing.
"Really?"
Somehow, if things lined up just right, the Chargers were going to be able to nab the top-rated safety in the 2018 NFL Draft by most, a physical, athletic specimen with no off-field issues and tremendous leadership potential.
New Orleans traded up _ and took a pass rusher. The Raiders, who traded down, ended up with an offensive tackle.
And, then at the last minute, Buffalo swooped in one pick ahead, and took linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, saying, "Nope" to James one more time.
And with Edmunds off the board, there wasn't much choice left to be made.
"We got lucky with Derwin," Telesco said.
And they didn't screw it up.
"I've got something to prove. Sixteen teams passed (on) me," James said after being picked by the Chargers No. 17 overall on Thursday. "I was surprised. It's surprising, but it doesn't matter where you get picked at. You look at the NFL, it's not where you go. It's what you do when you get there."
And, there are big reasons to expect he'll do a lot with the Chargers.
James fills the one hole in a loaded secondary _ playing safety opposite Jahleel Addae _ joining a group with former Pro Bowlers Casey Hayward and Jason Verrett and effective young players Trevor Williams and Desmond King.
Last season at Florida State, James had 84 tackles, two interceptions, 11 pass breakups and a sack, earning second-team All-America honors.
He didn't miss a game as a junior after suffering an injury the season before, though James said the meniscus repair in his left knee hasn't slowed him at all since.
"It was tough coming off the injury, but I got over it," James said. "I had never really been injured in my career, and I feel like I learned a lot, faced a lot of adversity, and I feel like it only helped me. I was around the game more, and I learned more about the game and my teammates, and I feel like it helped me as a leader, on and off the field."
James is expected to replace Tre Boston, who played virtually every snap on defense at free safety a year ago and remains an unsigned free agent.
He's also lined up at linebacker, strong safety and cornerback in college.
"It's a good fit for our defense. This guy, he has the skill set where he can do multiple things. There's a lot of versatility. We can use him as a linebacker. We can use him as a strong safety, a free safety. We can rush him off the edge," Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said. "He's a good tackler in space and an outstanding coverage guy. He's got a lot of work to do. We've got to get him here, teach him our system, get him caught up. But (I'm) very pleased with this pick."
The Chargers selected James ahead of quarterback Lamar Jackson, who eventually was picked with the No. 32 pick in the first round.
Linebackers Leighton Vander Esch (No. 19) and Rashaan Evans (No. 22) came off the board shortly after the Chargers landed James.
Linebacker, offensive tackle and defensive tackle are positions the Chargers could address when they pick Friday in the second round (No. 48 overall) and in the third round (No. 84).
In the week or so leading up to the draft, Telesco and his staff ran different scenarios trying to figure out who would be available when it was No. 17's turn to be picked. They thought someone would surely have said "Yes."
They were wrong.
"Oftentimes we say that we didn't think he was going to be there. We hear that all the time. I hate hearing that. But honestly, this one, we did not expect him to be there at our pick.," Telesco said. "We were prepared to take him if he was, but we did not think he would be there."
They had other options _ Jackson, Evans and Vander Esch the leading ones. But ultimately, there wasn't much of a decision to be made.
"The board worked out pretty well for us to get Derwin, so we're pretty happy with it," Telesco said, taking a quick moment to smile. "Pretty happy with our pick."
