Even though the Chargers don’t have any Lombardi Trophies in their trophy case, they have had a handful of legendary players come through the doors to help the team with successful seasons over the past 64 years.
That said, here are the four best players in the franchise’s history.
QB Dan Fouts
In 15 seasons, Fouts completed 3,297 passes for 43,040 yards and 254 touchdowns. Fouts became the first quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in multiple seasons (1979, 80, 81) and became the first to average 300 yards passing in a single season (81). He led the Chargers to back-to-back AFC Championship games. Fouts, who played his entire career in San Diego, earned six Pro Bowl selections during his career and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.
RB LaDainian Tomlinson
Tomlinson will go down as one of the best running backs to play the game. Tomlinson averaged 80 rush yards per game during his career, finishing with 13,684 rushing yards, 145 touchdowns and a career average of 4.3 yards per carry. Tomlinson finished his career with 18,456 scrimmage yards in his career, adding 17 receiving touchdowns to his resume making his career total 162 touchdowns. Of those stats, 16,447 scrimmage yards and 153 total touchdowns came while wearing a Chargers uniform. Tomlinson was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017 on the first ballot.
LB Junior Seau
No player was more associated with the Chargers than Seau. Seau played 13 seasons for the Bolts, being voted to the Pro Bowl in his final 12 years. He was first-team All-Pro for six years and earned the 1994 Walter Peyton Man of the Year. Seau had more than 100 tackles in seven seasons while with the Chargers, averaging 99 tackles and 3.6 sacks per season. He was the leader of the only team to play in the Super Bowl in 1994. Seau was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015. His passion for the game was unmatched, and you could make a strong argument that he will go down as the best to ever play for the franchise.
WR Lance Alworth
Alworth was the focal point of the pass-heavy offense that played in five of the American Football League’s (AFL) 10 championship games. During his Chargers’ career, Alworth averaged 55 receptions, 1064 yards (19.3 yards per catch) and nine touchdowns per season. With 9,584 receiving yards and 81 touchdown catches, Alworth ranks second only to tight end Antonio Gates in franchise history in those categories. He was a seven-time AFL All-Star and the first AFL player inducted into the Hall of Fame.
