LA Chargers countdown to 2020: Best number 86 in team history

There are 86 days until we see the LA Chargers back in action.

Counting today, we are officially 86 days away from the LA Chargers kicking off their 2020 season in Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

To countdown the 2020 season, we have been breaking down the best player in franchise history to wear each number that coincides with the number of days remaining until Week 1. Thus far, not a single current Charger has earned the honor of the best in franchise history to wear their number.

The current team has a good player wearing number 86 in Hunter Henry, who could probably make the case for being the second-best number 86 in team history but has not done enough to earn the best ever honors.

If he signs an extension after this season and continues to perform at the level that is expected of him then he absolutely has the makings of being the best number 86 in team history. He simply does not have that resume yet and the honor goes to someone who last played a long time ago.

The best number 86 in LA Chargers’ history: Earl Faison

There is a fairly good chance that most Charger fans were not fans of the team when Earl Faison played or do not remember much about the era if they were alive during the time. Faison played for the Bolts from 1961-66 before the NFL and AFL merged.

And while it is hard to truly appreciate how good Faison when we just look at the numbers, as sacks were not recorded back then, he is still undoubtedly the best number 86 in team history. It is not even close with Henry yet, despite how good Henry is.

Faison’s career was short but he was dominant. He earned Pro Bowl (or the equivalent to the Pro Bowl) honors in all five of his first five seasons and was an All-Pro in four of the seasons. The only year that he was not an All-Pro he only played eight games.

Faison racked up a career total of 61 Approximate Value with the Chargers, which trumps any other player in franchise history to wear the number 86. The next seven number 86s on the career AV leaderboard combined for 60 AV, one less than Faison did alone.

Faison was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame in 1986, making him the 16th player in franchise history to be inducted.

Hunter Henry is super talented, but he has not even come close to having the kind of career that Faison had for the Bolts. It is going to take longevity for Henry to earn that honor.