Chargers take DT Corey Liuget in the first-round...

In a draft that's full in talent on the defensive front seven, they sat back until they executed the No. 18 pick on a player they will plug in right away in an attempt to improve a defense that was ranked No. 1 in the NFL but was not nearly good enough.

“The whole goal here is to win a world championship,” team President Dean Spanos said recently. “We’ve fallen short. When I look back at the teams who have gone to the Super Bowl … they have dominant defenses. That’s where we’ve fallen short.”

While observers predicted and fans seemed to desire a player with flashier stats and a higher profile, the defensive lineman out of Illinois certainly fits the A.J. Smith profile. And Liuget appears to have the strength and initial quickness that could return the Chargers defensive line to being a group that actually pushes the line of scrimmage regularly.

“We just think he’s going to bring physical play to it,” Smith said. “A nasty mean streak; we always like to add that into it. … He’s got an attacking style to him. So we’re going add him, put him in Greg Manusky’s wagon and turn him loose.”

Liuget (pronounced LEE-jit) did not have eye-popping numbers at Illinois and won’t be asked to produce them in San Diego, where in the 3-4 scheme the Chargers are more concerned with him winning battles against the run.

Many, Liuget included, expected him to land on a team that ran a 4-3 defense, where he would play tackle. But he worked occasionally at Illinois in a spot similar to what he will do with the Chargers.

Liuget left school after his junior year, in which he had 63 tackles, 12½ tackles for loss and deflected three passes. While Liuget said he “never” talked to the Chargers in the pre-draft process, the Chargers’ homework yielded a portrait they liked. He worked hard to shed approximately 20 pounds before last season, transforming his body and getting quicker. The Chargers also cited a leadership role he took in 2010.

The Chargers sat and watched quarterback after quarterback come off the board, and Smith said the Chargers got “a ton” of calls during the first round regarding possible trades.

“We were locked and loaded,” Smith said. “Nothing intriguing. I really wasn’t interested in it. We had a nice group of players (to choose from) because of the depth on defense.”

That the Chargers did not move out of their slot coupled with what was described as an ecstatic defensive staff after the pick was made lent credence to the idea the Chargers coveted Liuget.

While they allowed just 93.8 rushing yards per game, fourth-lowest in the league, the Chargers also played six of the eight worst rushing teams in the league and were run over for 251 yards by the Oakland Raiders in December.

The Raiders finished 2010 as the league’s No. 2 rushing team, behind only the Kansas City Chiefs. Both are in the AFC West with the Chargers, meaning they comprise four of the Chargers’ games each season.

The Chargers are also looking to get back to being a team that takes the ball away and makes game-altering plays in crucial situations. The Chargers had just 23 takeaways in 2010, tied for 23rd in the NFL, and just one of those came in the fourth quarter of a close game and just four came in games they lost.

“I do believe Corey is a guy who will make big plays on defense,” Turner said. “With all the good things we’ve done on defense … we need to create more negative plays. He’s that type of athlete.”