5. The 2013 Chargers draft class
Selections: D.J. Fluker, Manti Te’o, Keenan Allen, Steve Williams, Tourek Williams, Brad Sorensen
This draft class has the best selection that Tom Telesco has ever made as the general manager of the LA Chargers and it happened in his first-ever draft. There is not a single selection in the last eight years that is better than Keenan Allen in the third round.
Of course, Joey Bosa is a hugely impactful player and the team got their franchise quarterback with the sixth overall pick in 2020. However, in terms of value of player compared to where they were selected, this takes the cake.
As long as Allen plays out the rest of his contract he will go down as the best receiver in franchise history and could even challenge Antonio Gates’ all-time numbers. For this reason, I originally had this draft class much higher, but it kept slipping and slipping the more I looked at it.
I had this draft third in my original rankings because the Allen selection is so good. However, the rest of the selections were so mediocre that I just couldn’t justify keeping it that high. You could interchange this and number four on this list and I would not argue.
D.J. Fluker was fine, but the only offensive lineman that Telesco has ever taken in the first round did not produce as expected. Manti Te’o was an intriguing but bad second-round selection and the trio of Steve Williams, Tourek Williams and Brad Sorensen were all non-factors.
Allen carries this draft class to fifth, but I cannot justify putting it higher.