LA Chargers: Looking back at each time the team drafted a QB in the first round

With the No. 6 overall pick in the draft, the Los Angeles Chargers may select a quarterback in the first round for just the fourth time in team history.

Dating back to their days in the AFL, the Chargers have selected just three quarterbacks in the first round. That’s slightly amazing considering how many first-round quarterbacks some other teams have taken, but it’s also another testament to just how valuable Philip Rivers was to the team.

Having a draft pick this high in a draft considered to be strong at the quarterback position to help convince Tom Telesco to pull the trigger. Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert are all expected to be taken in the top 10. Jordan Love could (and should) be considered a first-round pick as well.

During his time as Chargers general manager, Telesco has drafted just two quarterbacks — Brad Sorensen and Easton Stick — and neither was drafted to be a future starter.

The Chargers used many first-round picks on running backs and defensive backs, but the main position of choice with their first-round picks over their history has been defensive line. Since 1961, the Chargers have drafted 12 defensive linemen in the first round.

Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, considering all rounds of the draft, the Chargers have drafted just 24 quarterbacks. In addition, neither Dan Fouts nor Drew Brees — two all-time great quarterbacks — were drafted in the first round.

Let’s take a look back at the three quarterbacks who were drafted by the team in the first round.