OLB Melvin Ingram, the Chargers’ first-round pick, chases former LSU QB Jarrett Lee.

Second-round pick and DE Kendall Reyes doesn’t fall for defensive line coach Don Johnson’s false cadence, instead getting off the ball on the correct “snap.”

SS Brandon Taylor hauls in a pass during a defensive back movement drill under the supervision of new position coach Ron Meeks.

Fourth-round pick Ladarius Green works on his blocking with tight ends coach Jason Michael.

RB Edwin Baker of Michigan State, a seventh-round pick, takes a handoff up the gut.

QB Taylor Potts of Texas Tech, here for a weekend tryout, ropes a pass downfield.

Head Coach Norv Turner tells Green not to extend his arms five yards before the ball arrives and instead to run hard and put his hands up later.

Ingram, lining up on the left side of the defensive front, moved around often during Friday’s full-team drill.

Ingram addresses the San Diego media after his first professional practice.

Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher

Check out some of Melvin Ingram’s highlights from the 2011 season:

4:02 p.m. PT – I exhausted my Mountain Dew and Sour Patch Kids early in the day finishing up draft preview stories. You can access a position-by-position rundown here.

Chargers President Dean Spanos spoke with Chargers.com at about 3:30 on the building excitement, so check that out as well.

It should be an interesting night. I’ve heard speculation on all fronts: trade up, trade down and stay at No. 18 overall, which is where General Manager A.J. Smith sits now. Mock drafts from various analysts can’t come close to settling on a consensus pick, but OLB, S, CB and G all seem like possibilities.

4:10 p.m. PT – Reports have Cleveland trading with Minnesota to secure the No. 3 overall pick.

So, while it’s not official, the first three picks likely are as follows.

Indianapolis Colts: QB Andrew Luck, Stanford
Washington Redskins: QB Robert Griffin III, Baylor
Cleveland Browns: RB Trent Richardson, Alabama

4:12 p.m. PT – Follow @chargers and @sdchargersdude on Twitter for up-to-the-minute Chargers news updates.

4:18 p.m. PT – You get to be GM for a minute. Who are you taking at No. 18 and why? (Come on, we all know you’re playing that game on your own. Might as well share.)

4:25 p.m. PT – Commenter “Stephen” wants Boise State DE and 3-4 OLB prospect Shea McClellin at No. 18. My Twitter followers are in favor of a trade up to nab Alabama S Mark Barron, which likely would carry a steep price if reports are true that several teams covet the Crimson Tide star.

4:29 p.m. PT – Getting rid of my last bit of fuel already. Here comes a carrot cake Clif Bar. What are your draft rituals? Where are you watching?

4:38 p.m. PT – Here’s a tidbit for you: the Chargers, who completed a trade in each of their first 41 NFL seasons, and made four draft pick-related trades just two seasons ago, have not made a swap since shipping a seventh-round pick to Dallas for receiver Patrick Crayton on Sept. 3, 2010.

Last year was the first no-trade season in franchise history.

4:59 p.m. PT – The Indianapolis Colts are on the clock in less than one minute. Roger Goodell, Andrew Luck. Welcome to the league.

5:10 p.m. PT – The Washington Redskins take Griffin second overall, and Mike Shanahan believes he finally has the QB he needs.

It’s the fifth time in NFL history quarterbacks have been taken No. 1 and No. 2 overall in the same draft. The other four:

1971 – Jim Plunkett (NE) and Archie Manning (NYG)

1993 – Drew Bledsoe (NE) and Rick Mirer (SEA)

1998 – Peyton Manning (IND) and Ryan Leaf (SD)

1999 – Tim Couch (CLE) and Donovan McNabb (PHI)

5:15 p.m. PT – The Colts, Redskins and Browns didn’t waste time turning in picks, as the NFL injected a bit of time in between on the broadcast, but the Vikings already are on the clock. The intrigue begins.

Many expect USC T Matt Kalil. LSU CB Morris Claiborne is another option, and some think the Bucs grab Claiborne at No. 5.

5:18 p.m. PT – RBs had to wait for No. 28 overall last year (Alabama’s Mark Ingram). I believe the trend will continue away from RBs as top 10 selections, but many feel Bama’s Trent Richardson is good enough to be an exception.

I asked Richardson about the trend at the Combine. Here’s what he had to say.

5:30 p.m. PT – Interesting sub-plot for draft nerds as the picks are rolling in faster than the broadcast is moving along. Also, there is a lot of movement thus far, as Tampa Bay has traded the No. 5 overall selection to Jacksonville, who takes WR Justin Blackmon.

Oh, and for USC fans, Kalil officially will protect QB Christian Ponder (last year’s No. 12 overall pick) and block for RB Adrian Peterson.

5:34 p.m. PT – Woah. The Dallas Cowboys, thought to be major players for Alabama S Mark Barron, made a trade up to No. 6 from 14. Stay tuned.

5:38 p.m. PT – Dallas selects Claiborne. There were four trades in the top six picks, including Washington, which made its move weeks ago. That ties last year’s total for the entire first round.

5:43 p.m. PT – The Bucs take Barron at No. 7 overall, higher than some expected, but Barron’s “stock” seemed to rise late. Alabama has six picks of the 39 between last year’s first round and the No. 7 pick this year.

And the first player some associated with San Diego now is off the board. Still no pass-rusher. Von Miller went No. 2 overall to Denver last year.

6:01 p.m. PT – Still on the board are OLB prospects Quinton Coples and Melvin Ingram as well as DT prospects Fletcher Cox and Michael Brockers.

6:05 p.m. PT – Kansas City at No. 11 is the first AFC West team to make a pick. The Chiefs take Memphis DT Dontari Poe. There likely will be some debate about this pick. Poe’s frame and athleticism are elite. Some questioned his production in Conference USA.

6:10 p.m. PT – The first outside pass-rusher still hasn’t come off the board. The Chargers, one would think, have to be keeping tabs on that development.

6:20 p.m. PT – As 1360 AM personality Ben Higgins pointed out, Josh Lewin and the rest of the broadcast crew avoided two WRs named M. Floyd with Arizona taking Notre Dame’s Michael Floyd. Not that San Diego would’ve taken him.

6:27 p.m. PT – Time to get serious. May not be updating for a while. Pick No. 15 on the clock.

9:03 p.m. PT – Well, that turned out well. The Chargers targeted pass-rush. It was a top priority. And it just so happened the first outside pass rusher didn’t get selected until Seattle at No. 15 overall (again, last year Miller was picked No. 2). Coples went No. 16 to the New York Jets, but Melvin Ingram still was unclaimed until San Diego picked.

I thought the Chargers may take an OLB at 18, but I wouldn’t have expected a player regarded as well as Ingram.

Another expected priority, safety, saw the consensus top two go a bit earlier than public draft analysts expected, with Barron at No. 7 overall and Notre Dame’s Harrison Smith at No. 29.

Three running backs found out their teams on the first day, with Boise State’s Doug Martin and Virginia Tech’s David Wilson closing out the first round.

9:31 p.m. PT – Here’s the main story on the selection of Ingram. The Chargers plan to start Jarret Johnson and Shaun Phillips, with Antwan Barnes and Ingram as pass-rush specialists. Larry English and Travis LaBoy will vie for roles.

Ingram played point guard in high school, played on the hands team in college, does backflips and is an outstanding overall athlete.

A.J. Smith took a few moments to talk about the pick with Chargers.com.

What did you think of the selection? Let us know below.

San Diego holds the 17th pick in the second round, which begins at 4 p.m. PT tomorrow. The Chargers also hold a third-round pick on the draft’s second day. What positions would you like to see Smith go after?

That’s about it for day one.

Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher

The players began with running Monday morning at 8 a.m.

OLB Antwan Barnes limbers up his legs over hurdles. Barnes made 11 sacks last season.

RB Ryan Mathews heaves a medicine ball during circuit training.

FS Eric Weddle, SS Darrell Stuckey and CB Antoine Cason walk between drills.

LG Tyronne Green starts what's an important offseason in his career. Green, in a contract year, will get a chance to replace the retired Kris Dielman in the starting lineup.

Players are not allowed to take part in organized football drills during Phase I of the offseason conditioning program under the new CBA.

Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher

The group goes through each player in what’s called “draft readings,” where one or more of those in the room share their notes and analysis out loud for one player at a time. They discuss each player’s personality, character, physical attributes and overall skill set. The team began with offensive linemen Tuesday, so Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line coach Hal Hunter and Offensive Line coach Mike Sullivan both were present as well.

General Manager A.J. Smith sits at the head of the table opposite Player Personnel Director Jimmy Raye. Turner sits to Smith’s right and Director of College Scouting John Spanos sits to Raye’s left. The rest of the player personnel department and the assistant coaches sit in between at the long draft room table, or at several small satellite tables a few feet away.

Head Coach Norv Turner and General Manager A.J. Smith listen as a scout shares his notes on an offensive lineman from the Midwest.

Here is Smith's view from the head of the table as the scouts reconvene after a short break Tuesday morning.

Turner opens a thick binder of notes gathered from interviews at the NFL Combine.

Raye (left) and Spanos sit near each other during Tuesday's draft readings.

Smith listens intently, pen in hand.

Director of Pro Scouting Dennis Abraham, right, sits at one of the smaller tables with Assistant Director of Pro Scouting Bryan Cox.

Turner cracks a joke as he takes his place at the table and the meeting resumes.

Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher

North Alabama CB Janoris Jenkins answers questions about his three arrests, marijuana use and getting kicked out of the University of Florida candidly. He has turned his life around because he wants a better life for his mom and kids.

1:41 p.m. EST – Coastal Carolina CB Josh Norman is trying to become the next Chanticleers player to make it in the NFL. He follows “Big Mike” Tolbert closely.

LSU CB Morris Claiborne believes he's worthy of the No. 2 overall pick. Says former Georgia WR A.J. Green was the toughest he faced in college.

3:59 p.m. EST – Clemson DT Brandon Thompson made the mistake of telling a college teammate he doesn’t like yams. His friend began calling him “Yams,” something his head coach repeated during spring practice and the nickname stuck. Thompson is OK with it, but “I still don’t like yams.”

4:44 p.m. EST – NFL Network’s Mike Mayock tells the media the defensive tackle class is deep this year and the tight end class is weak.

Alabama S Mark Barron will not work out because of his double hernia surgery, which he does not feel will hurt his draft stock. Barron believes he's worthy of a first-round pick.

5:28 p.m. EST – That’s it from Indianapolis. Check Chargers.com for the stories, which are hovering around double digits in numbers. I’ll have position-by-position previews leading to April’s draft as well as more on San Diego’s defensive focus and priorities according to General Manager A.J. Smith and Head Coach Norv Turner in the coming weeks.

Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher

On-field workouts have started this morning as OL do positional drills and run. Georgia G/T Cordy Glenn, the heaviest player here at 345 pounds, clocked 4.96 seconds in the 40-yard dash. More telling would be his splits at 10 and 20 yards, which I don’t have, but not bad athleticism for a large man.

South Carolina DE Melvin Ingram measured 6-foot-1, 264 pounds. He's been working as a 3-4 OLB in drills with Von Miller and feels "it's like second nature."

12:56 p.m. – Glenn’s official time has been adjusted to 5.15 seconds, still solid (sixth among OL). Stanford G David DeCastro ran a 5.43.

1:08 p.m. – Mississippi State DT Fletcher Cox blocked four kicks in college. Says it started in practice, where he blocked more than that. Cox also says he ran the 400-meter relay in high school and weighed 240.

DT Dontari Poe measured 6-foot-4, 346. Thought to be a nose tackle in a 3-4 defense, Poe will aim for 40 bench press reps during his workout.

 1:52 p.m. EST – Illinois DE Whitney Mercilus led the nation with 16 sacks in 2011. Says he’s answering questions about being a one-year wonder.

Mercilus, a college teammate of San Diego's 2011 first-round pick Corey Liuget, says he interviewed with the Chargers among other teams last night.

2:10 p.m. EST – Oklahoma TE James Hanna, listed at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds in college, ran an unofficial time of 4.42 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Louisiana-Lafayette TE Ladarius Green ran 4.47 seconds unofficially.

2:25 p.m. EST – Will speak to Head Coach Norv Turner in half an hour. Timing may not be good, as we’re expecting a rush of the top LBs and DL soon.

2:33 p.m. EST – Penn State DT Devon Still: “I think I’m the best defensive tackle in the draft, hands down.”

3:34 p.m. EST – Pertinent information from Turner:

“We were 32^nd in the league on third-down defense. What constitutes playing good third-down defense? Obviously it’s pass defense and there’s two elements.

“It’s how well you pressure the quarterback, and if you can add players who can pressure the quarterback and then help them with the type of scheme we run, those two things are big to me, and certainly the coverage people, the two people that we identified we need to get better are covering the slot and the nickel linebacker to cover backs and tight ends.

“Those are areas I would think as we look and evaluate players, those guys will be of big interest.”

4:26 p.m. EST – A flood of players. USC DE Nick Perry is 6-foot-2 and has gained about 10 pounds to 270. Says he prefers to play 4-3 with his hand in the ground and hasn’t spent much time working on OLB drills.

His teammate, LB Chris Galippo, called former position coach and now San Diego LB coach Joe Barry a great coach.

“Just one of the best teachers I’ve ever been around,” Galippo said. “A lot of coaches are great coaches. Joe Barry’s just a teacher. He knows the game so well.”

6:18 p.m. EST – That’s it for tonight. I’ll have a pair of stories on Chargers.com soon and I’ll have a lot more tomorrow.

Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher

10:25 a.m. EST – Andrew Luck measured at 6-foot-4, 238 pounds today. Robert Griffin III is 6-foot-2 3/8, 223 pounds. Both are favorable figures for the top to projected QBs in the draft.

10:42 a.m. EST – Denver executive John Elway speaks to the media and gets bombarded with Tim Tebow questions. Hopes Tebow will be the Broncos’ QB for a “long, long time.” San Diego is 2-1 against Tebow, though they’ve faced him just twice as a starter.

10:47 a.m. EST – The NFL invited fans to Super Bowl media day this season for the first time. Now they’re inviting a select group of 250 to watch Combine drills. Players may begin competing against one another in the bench press and 40-yard dash. Thoughts?

11:14 a.m. EST – Among the rush of players due for interviews today: Wisconsin C Peter Konz, Stanford G David DeCastro, Georgia G Cody Glenn and Florida State T Zebrie Sanders. All four are projected high-round picks at positions the Chargers still need to figure out. (Many of the top OL spoke yesterday, including T Matt Kalil, T Riley Reiff and T Jonathan Martin.)

San Diego may or may not have a need at OL by the draft, but the team will continue to evaluate and discuss the candidates at the Combine this week.

11:38 a.m. EST – Reaction to the NFL floating the idea about turning the 40-yard dash into a competitive event between prospects: “I would love that,” Miami receiver Travis Benjamin said.

1:02 p.m. EST – Notre Dame WR Michael Floyd is being frank and open about “mistakes” he made out of “immaturity” earlier in his college career. Says he took alcohol counseling classes this year and changed the environment around him on the advice of former coach Brian Kelly.

1:26 p.m. EST – Baylor WR Kendall Wright measured 5-foot-10. Texas A&M WR Jeff Fuller measured taller than 6-foot-4, but a stress fracture will prevent him from doing drills at the Combine. He and QB Ryan Tannehill will stage a workout March 25.

1:45 p.m. EST – The room is now flooded with prospects, including Heisman winner Robert Griffin III. The Baylor QB had the media chuckling on several occasions. Oklahoma State WR Justin Blackmon also talking now.

Asked about Cam Newton comparisons, Griffin says he has more experience throwing the ball out of college. Says Newton is bigger and more elusive, but considers himself faster. Also says Newton's confidence is "off the charts. I try to keep mine on the charts," but it's still high.

5:57 p.m. EST – Sorry for the delay between posts — most all of the QBs, RBs and WRs at the Combine now have come through the media room. SDSU QB Ryan Lindley, who will work out Sunday, is anxious to show improved accuracy in the time since the Senior Bowl.

Alabama RB Trent Richardson still thinks the NFL’s top RB deserves a high-round pick (see Chargers.com soon for more on that). Stanford QB Andrew Luck drew more than 200 media members.

6:06 p.m. EST – As far as the Chargers go, I talked to A.J. Smith in the team suite around lunch time. He explained which positions are more valuable around Philip Rivers — OL, RB or TE/WR? Smith also discussed the move to trade up for Ryan Mathews in 2010, a contrary move in an era where RBs no longer command top-round draft picks.

Smith also discussed the team’s effort to find healthy players and why despite good information it doesn’t always work out. Check Chargers.com soon for related stories.

Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher