LA Chargers: The most successful draft order locations in team history

1. The 5th overall pick

• Players drafted at 5: Junior Seau (1990), LaDainian Tomlinson (2001), Quentin Jammer (2002)

The greatest draft order location in franchise history is the 5th overall pick and it really is not even close. In fact, I would be willing to say that out of any team in the entire league, the 5th overall pick for the LA Chargers is the most fruitful.

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The team has selected both of its franchise icons with the fifth overall selection. With all due respect to Philip Rivers, Junior Seau and LaDainian Tomlinson are the two greatest players in franchise history and it is only fitting that they were selected with the same pick.

We don’t even have to make a case for the greatness of either player, but here we go. Seau is a Pro Football Hall of Famer and 12-time Pro Bowler and six-time All-Pro across 13 seasons with the Chargers.

Only 15 players in NFL history have been named to 12 Pro Bowls while 54 players in NFL history have been named to six All-Pro teams.

Tomlinson is also a Pro Football Hall of Famer, holds the record for most rushing touchdowns in a season, is second all-time in rushing touchdowns and is seventh all-time in rushing yards. Statistically, he is a top-five running back of all-time with perhaps the best season in NFL history coming in 2006.

Let’s not forget about Quentin Jammer, though. Jammer is one of, if not the, best cornerbacks in franchise history. He played 11 years with the Chargers, started 162 games and never missed more than two games in a season.

He was never one of the best cornerbacks in the league, as he was never named to the Pro Bowl, but he was a beacon of consistency in a game that is made to lead to inconsistencies.

The fifth overall pick is the best pick in franchise history and it is not even close. Let’s hope that some of that luck can rub off on the sixth overall pick.