LA Chargers: Tom Telesco’s best draft picks as general manager

Tom Telesco’s best draft pick for the LA Chargers: Keenan Allen, third round, 2013

Tom Telesco made a fantastic selection with the LA Chargers in his first draft with the team and has not been able to top that selection since, as it would be very hard to. Telesco selected arguably the core piece of the offense moving forward and one of the best receivers in the NFL in Keenan Allen in the third round.

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This very well could have never been the case, either. Allen was plagued with injuries early in his career and there was a point where it was a legitimate concern that his career would be similar to Jason Verrett’s, who the Chargers selected one year later.

However, Allen has overcome that injury narrative and has put together a full 16-game season in each of the last three years with a combined 3,788 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns.

Allen is undoubtedly one of the best wide receivers in the league and is arguably the most talented player on this list. Even if you make the case for Bosa or James being more talented, the fact that Allen was selected in the third round is the icing on the cake.

The rest of that 2013 draft was pretty awful when we looked at it in retrospect, but the Allen selection was enough to make it a passable draft for Telesco and was a great start to his tenure with the Chargers.

If Allen re-signs with the team after the 2020 season, stays healthy, and continues to produce, he has a legitimate chance to go down as the best wide receiver in franchise history.