AFC West teams focused on defense

The Associated Press

The COSTA

Los Angeles Chargers could have declared this NFL draft to be a victory after they got Derwin James in a widely perceived steal in the first round.

They still spent the next two days adding a diverse collection of talent on both sides of the ball to make a solid roster even better.

Two days after the Florida State safety unexpectedly fell to the Chargers with the 17th overall pick, Los Angeles grabbed West Virginia safety Kyzir White in the fourth round Saturday with plans to turn him into a linebacker.

The Chargers then drafted UCLA center Scott Quessenberry, a lifelong Chargers fan from the San Diego suburbs. With their final picks, they landed Texas Tech receiver Dylan Cantrell and prolific Northwestern running back Justin Jackson.

“I thought we got good individuals,” coach Anthony Lynn said. “They all have great personalities, backgrounds, good intangibles, but they’re good football players as well.”

Los Angeles chose defensive players with its first four picks, bolstering a unit that allowed fewer points than all but two teams last season. The Chargers’ final three picks were used on offensive players, and all three appear to have a legitimate shot to make the roster of a unit that finished fourth in the NFL with 376.6 yards per game last season.

Raiders Hurst. take risk on

The Oakland Raiders finished the NFL draft by taking another risk, although this one could come with an extremely high payoff.

The Raiders traded up in the fifth round on Saturday to take talented Michigan pass rusher Maurice Hurst, who fell from a projected first-round pick to off some draft boards because of concerns from a heart condition that got him sent home from the combine.

“It’s money,” Hurst said. “Just upset and disappointed in teams that decided not to pick me. But one got a great player for very little.

The Raiders traded the 159th and 185th picks to Indianapolis for the 140th pick on Saturday and used it to take a player who might have gone in the first round had he not had health concerns.

But he got sent home from the combine after a heart issue was detected. Hurst said it was something he has dealt with for a long time and hadn’t impacted him on the field. He said he has been cleared by doctors at Harvard and Michigan but that didn’t prevent his fall.

Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie said the team had no concerns about Hurst’s ability to get on the field and said he expected him to take part in rookie minicamp next week.

Chiefs load up on D.

» Brett Veach thought he was in good shape offensively after adding wide receiver Sammy Watkins in free agency, and that the Kansas City Chiefs’ most pressing needs were entirely on defense.

So, he used the entire draft to address them.

After using their first three picks on that side of the ball, Veach used the final day of the draft to select three more on Saturday.

Texas A&M safety Armani Watts went in the fourth round, cornerback Tremon Smith went in the sixth round and defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie went two picks later.

They joined Ole Miss pass rusher Breeland Speaks, Florida State defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi and Clemson linebacker Dorian O’Daniel in filling out the Chiefs’ defense-heavy draft class.

“Listen, all drafts are unique in their own way in regards to those players and the positions you feel the depth is,” Veach said.