The Los Angeles Chargers are an American football franchise who play in the National Football League (NFL). They began play in Los Angeles in 1960 as charter members of the American Football League (AFL), [1] switched cities to San Diego the following season, [2] and returned to Los Angeles in 2017. [3] The AFL was formed as rivals to the established NFL, though the leagues would later merge, with all AFL teams including the Chargers officially joining the NFL in 1970. [4]
Every year during April, each NFL franchise seeks to add new players to its roster through a collegiate draft known as the NFL Player Selection Meeting, which is more commonly known as the NFL draft. [5] [6] The Chargers took part in the rival AFL draft for the first seven years of their existence, meaning that they had to compete for new players' signatures with whichever club had picked them in the NFL draft. [7] Their first draft selection was Monty Stickles, an end from the University of Notre Dame. [8] Unlike all future picks, he was not chosen by the Chargers themselves, but rather assigned in a territorial draft at a meeting of the AFL's original owners. [9] Stickles never played for the Chargers as he chose to sign for the San Francisco 49ers instead; overall, the Chargers were unable to sign their first-round selection four times during their first seven years. After that, the two leagues conducted a common draft, ending the inter-league bidding war. [4] Over a decade later, the original United States Football League (USFL) challenged the NFL by conducting its own collegiate drafts from 1983 to 1986. [10] [11] The Chargers temporarily lost two of their first-round picks (Gary Anderson and Mossy Cade) to USFL clubs, though both joined the NFL in 1985 as the USFL struggled financially. [12]
In the NFL draft, teams are ranked in inverse order based on the previous season's record, with the worst record picking first, and the second worst picking second and so on. [5] Teams have the option of trading away their picks to other teams for different picks, players, or a combination thereof. [5] Thus, it is not uncommon for a team's actual draft pick to differ from their assigned draft pick, or for a team to have extra or no draft picks in any round due to these trades. [5] The Chargers have been without a first-round pick eight times in their history, including six times in seven years from 1994 to 2000. They have possessed two first-round picks on seven different occasions; once, in 1983, they had three such picks.
The Chargers have twice been in possession of the No. 1 overall pick, though in neither case has the player selected played for them. In 2001, they traded the No. 1 pick to the Atlanta Falcons before the draft for three draft picks and one player; the Falcons selected Michael Vick, while the Chargers chose LaDainian Tomlinson with the No. 5 overall pick. In 2004, the projected No. 1 pick, Eli Manning, stated that he would not play in San Diego. The Chargers still selected him, but quickly traded the player to the New York Giants for Philip Rivers (who the Giants had just drafted at No. 4 overall) and three draft picks, one of which was used to select Shawne Merriman in the first round the following season.
Twenty-four of the Chargers's first round selections have been nominated for at least one Pro Bowl or AFL All-Star game; Junior Seau has the most such nominations, with twelve. Three have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Kellen Winslow, Seau and LaDainian Tomlinson.
The team's most recent first-round pick was Joe Alt, an offensive tackle from Notre Dame selected No. 5 overall in 2024. They have chosen 33 defensive players in the first round, and 32 offensive players; defensive linemen have been the most common position, with 13 selected. Ohio State, Tennessee, Texas, TCU and Notre Dame are tied for the most players chosen by the Chargers from one university, with three selections each.
Key | |
---|---|
^ | Indicates the player was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame |
† | Indicates the player was selected for the Pro Bowl or AFL All-Star game at any time in their career |
* | Selected number one overall |
‡ | Current Charger: statistics correct through 2022 season |
— | The Chargers did not draft a player in the first round that year. |
Year | Each year links to an article about that particular NFL Draft. |
Pick | Indicates the number of the pick within the first round |
Position | Indicates the position of the player in the NFL |
College | The player's college football team |
Seasons | The number of seasons in which the player had at least one appearance for the Chargers |
Pro Bowls | The number of seasons in which the player was voted to the Pro Bowl or AFL All-Star game as a Charger |
Games | Regular season games in which the player appeared for the Chargers |
Starts | Regular season games in which the player started for the Chargers |
Position abbreviations | |
---|---|
C | Center |
CB | Cornerback |
DE | Defensive end |
DT | Defensive tackle |
E | End |
FB | Fullback |
G | Guard |
LB | Linebacker |
QB | Quarterback |
RB | Running back |
S | Safety |
T | Tackle |
TE | Tight end |
WR | Wide receiver |
College | Count | Most recent |
---|---|---|
Notre Dame | 3 | Joe Alt (2024) |
Ohio State | 3 | Joey Bosa (2016) |
Tennessee | 3 | Chris Mims (1992) |
Texas | 3 | Quentin Jammer (2002) |
TCU | 3 | Quentin Johnston (2023) |
Arkansas | 2 | Gary Anderson (1983) |
Florida State | 2 | Derwin James (2018) |
LSU | 2 | Craig Davis (2007) |
Missouri | 2 | Kellen Winslow (1979) |
Northwestern | 2 | Rashawn Slater (2021) |
Oklahoma | 2 | Kenneth Murray (2020) |
Texas A&M | 2 | Sammy Davis (2003) |
USC | 2 | Junior Seau (1990) |
Position | Count | Most recent |
---|---|---|
Defensive line (DE, DL) | 13 | Jerry Tillery (2019) |
Defensive back (CB, S) | 12 | Derwin James (2018) |
Running back (FB, RB) | 10 | Melvin Gordon (2015) |
Offensive line (C, G, T) | 9 | Joe Alt (2024) |
Linebacker (LB) | 8 | Kenneth Murray (2020) |
Wide receiver (WR) | 7 | Quentin Johnston (2023) |
Quarterback (QB) | 4 | Justin Herbert (2020) |
Tight end (E, TE) | 2 | Kellen Winslow (1979) |
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons were founded on June 30, 1965, and joined the NFL in 1966 as an expansion team, after the NFL offered then-owner Rankin Smith a franchise to keep him from joining the rival American Football League (AFL).
Leonard James Russell is an American former professional football player who was a running back for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils. Russell was selected by the New England Patriots in the first round of the 1991 NFL draft with the 14th overall pick. He played from 1991 to 1996 for the Patriots, Denver Broncos, St. Louis Rams, and San Diego Chargers.
The 2001 NFL draft was the 66th draft annual of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on April 21–22, 2001.
Glyn Curt Milburn is an American former professional football player who was a running back and return specialist for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for the Stanford Cardinal, he was selected by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 1993 NFL draft. He also played for the Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, and San Diego Chargers. He holds the NFL record for most all-purpose yards gained in a single game with 404 on December 10, 1995. He was also the Chicago Bears all-time leading kick returner with 4,596 yards. He was selected to the Pro Bowl twice in 1995 and 1999, and was named first-team All-Pro in 1999. After his playing career ended, he was the General Manager and the Director of Player Personnel for the Austin Wranglers in the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2008.
The 1987 San Diego Chargers was the franchise's 18th season in the National Football League (NFL), and the 28th overall. The team improved on their 4–12 record in 1986, finishing 8–7 but missing the playoffs. A players’ strike reduced the regular season schedule from sixteen to fifteen games. The Chargers started the season 8–1, with victories over eventual division winners Indianapolis and Cleveland, before collapsing to lose their final six games of the season, narrowly missing the playoffs. All but one of their final six losses came to teams that made the postseason.