The LA Chargers traded their second and third-round pick to move back into the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft to select inside linebacker, Kenneth Murray.
This was a pleasant surprise for Charger fans, as there were not any legitimate expectations for the team to trade back into the first. Fans have been debating the value of Murray since the selection, but one thing is clear — the Chargers got the guy they wanted.
That guy is a great leader on the football field that finally gives the Chargers that traditional inside linebacker that excels in thwarting rushing lanes.
Murray is the eighth linebacker to be taken in the first round in franchise history, and in honor of the Chargers trading up to select him, we decided to rank the seven first-round linebackers that came before him.
Ranking the linebackers taken in the first round by the LA Chargers:
7. Ted Davis
The LA Chargers selected Ted Davis with the eighth overall pick in the 1964 AFL Draft but he was also selected in the fourth round of the 1964 NFL Draft. Thus, Davis spurned the Chargers and carved out a seven-year career in the NFL as a serviceable backup.
Davis was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens and is the only player on this list to not have actually played for the Chargers.
6. Larry English
Larry English had a lot of potential but that potential just never came to be. The Chargers selected English with the 16th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft and he just could not stay healthy enough to have a tangible career with the Bolts.
English was a Charger for five seasons but was always a rotational linebacker, starting just nine of his 52 games with the Bolts. He missed eight games in 2010, 11 games in 2011 and seven games in his last season with the Chargers, 2013.
English recorded 11 sacks and 63 solo tackles in his five seasons with the Chargers.