LA Chargers: Four greatest one-year wonders in franchise history

Some players had a lasting impact on the LA Chargers for many years, others are one-year wonders.

The LA Chargers have several legends throughout franchise history that serve as the face of the franchise and made irrefutable impacts on the team. Philip Rivers, LaDainian Tomlinson, Junior Seau, Antonio Gates, Dan Fouts.

Then there are the in-between players that had a big enough impact on the team but did not spend their careers long enough on the team to be considered all-time greats, or faces of the franchise. Someone like Vincent Jackson immediately comes to mind.

Then there are those players that only played for the Chargers for one season but had a fairly decent season. These one-year wonders do not get the credit they often deserve and we decided to break down the four best one-year wonders in team history.

There are some rules: first, the player could not have been drafted by the Chargers. Second, we are not including players from the AFL days.

4. Clarence Duren (1977)

After four seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, Clarence Duren spent the last year of his NFL career with the Chargers and he was fairly solid as the team’s starting free safety. He started all 14 games for the Chargers that season and recorded four interceptions and three fumble recoveries.

That was the best season of Duren’s short career as he posted a career-high in interceptions, fumble recoveries and Pro Football Reference’s Approximate Value, which essentially is a figure that is meant to put a single numerical value on a player’s production.