"An obscure linebacker from Missouri put an exclamation point on a Chargers draft that majored in defense and minored in special teams.

Andrew Gachkar, selected with a compensatory seventh-round pick the Chargers got for losing special teams Pro Bowler Kassim Osgood to free agency last year, provided a fitting end to three days that were so clearly about not only improving a team but also righting a wrong.

"We need to get back to where we had that great energy," general manager A.J. Smith said of the Chargers special teams.

He harkened to the not-long-ago days of Carlos Polk and Brandon Siler and Mike Tolbert and Osgood, whose collective passion for covering kicks was effective and contagious.

"We need to get it back, and we're going to get it back," Smith said. "This kid, we think, is going to be one of those guys."

Moreover, at least five of the eight players selected since Thursday will, if all goes according to plan, be core members of the Chargers kick teams.

"These guys have special teams temperament," Smith said. "We have always looked for that, but we put special emphasis on (it) this year because of the embarrassment last year."

In January - following what was arguably the worst special teams campaign in NFL history, featuring four blocked punts, one deflected punt, a punt returned for a touchdown and three kickoff returns for touchdowns - longtime special teams coach Steve Crosby was fired. Rich Bisaccia replaced him, his reputation having been built largely on his work within an ever-changing young Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster.

The Chargers, who in the middle of last season spent nearly $2 million to sign veteran players to work almost exclusively on the kick teams, vowed they would go younger on special teams."