The 10 best linebackers in the history of the LA Chargers

At the heart of every great defense is a hard-hitting linebacker. Even in today's modern NFL, where front offices are becoming smarter about what positions to spend on, linebackers are still being valued by the best teams in the league.

While the LA Chargers do not currently have one of these elite linebackers, one of the best linebackers in NFL history suited up in the powder blue. The best linebacker in team history might be rather obvious, but the rest of the all-time greats are certainly up in the air.

Criteria for selection:

For simplicity's sake, this list only includes linebackers who played inside linebacker for the Chargers. Anyone who played outside linebacker as an edge rusher was included in our top 10 defensive linemen in Chargers history rankings.

Accolades, such as Pro Bowls and All-Pros, are an important thing to factor in with these rankings. Pure statistics can be a bit muddled, especially considering tackles were not officially (or consistently) kept for many years.

How long a player's tenure was and how impactful he was to the overall defense is also important. It is not a fail-proof system, but using these metrics, a top-10 list can start to take shape.

The top 10 linebackers in Chargers history:

10. Denzel Perryman

Denzel Perryman's first stint with the Chargers was not enough as the veteran linebacker returned to the team to play for Jim Harbaugh in 2024. Perryman did enough in his first tenure with the Bolts to make the list and he could climb the ranks if he continues to produce in the powder blue.

Perryman was a solid starter for the Chargers who could have had an even bigger impact if he stayed fully healthy. The former second-round pick missed 27 games in his first six seasons with the Bolts, meaning he missed 28% of the team's games in that span.

Perryman followed Gus Bradley to the Las Vegas Raiders, where he earned his only Pro Bowl nod in 2021. After two years with the Raiders, Perryman spent one year in Houston before returning to the Bolts.

9. Stephen Cooper

Stephen Cooper has one of the longest careers of any player on this list, although he did not reach the same heights that those above him reached. Cooper spent every single year of his nine-year NFL career with the Chargers and called it quits after 125 games played for the Bolts.

Cooper was never regarded as an exceptional linebacker who was breaking down the door to be a Pro Bowler. He was a serviceable, reliable starting linebacker who stayed on the field and had an impact on both special teams and on the defense.

Although he only started 63 games for the Chargers in total, it is worth mentioning that from 2003 through 2009 he missed only four games and those all came in one season. He was not a star, but he was reliable and that is enough to get him on the list.

8. Woodrow Lowe

Woodrow Lowe did not exclusively play inside linebacker for the Chargers and that does hurt his place on the rankings some. Lowe spent the last several years with the Chargers as an outside linebacker and that split focus does make an impact.

That being said, Lowe is still second in franchise history in games played for a linebacker, even though more than a third of those came as an outside linebacker.

While Lowe was always a serviceable, average-to-above-average starter, he never reached the point that so many of these other linebackers reached. He was always just a serviceable starter, and despite the sheer number of games played, that holds him back.

7. Rick Redman

We have now entered the crop of linebackers who many fans might not be familiar with. The linebackers who are in this tier of the rankings all played for the Chargers when the team was in the AFL, not the NFL.

The Chargers drafted Redman in the fifth round of the 1965 AFL Draft and managed to secure his rights from the Philadelphia Eagles, who took him in the 10th round in the NFL Draft the same year. Redman would then go on to play 100 games for the Chargers across nine seasons and was with the team when it joined the NFL.

Redman is far more intriguing than any other linebacker on this list. In addition to playing linebacker, the one-time AFL All-Star also served as the team's punter in his first three years in the AFL.

6. Chuck Allen

Although he was not a punter, Chuck Allen was also a very influential linebacker who played for the Chargers during their time in the AFL. In fact, Allen arguably peaked at the perfect time as his best year with the Bolts was in 1963 — the same year the Chargers won the only championship in franchise history.

Allen was a 28th-round pick in the 1961 AFL Draft and he certainly played far above where he was drafted. The Washington native finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting in 1961 and was named to two AFL All-Star teams during his tenure in Southern California.

The 28th-round pick played 108 games in total for the Bolts and did enough to earn his spot in the Chargers Hall of Fame.

5. Emil Karas

Emil Karas played alongside Allen in the early days of the Chargers and was also an AFL All-Star the year the team won the AFC Championship in 1963. It was Karas' third consecutive AFL All-Star nod and would be his last. After helping the team win the title in '64, Karas played a total of six more games the next two years before retiring.

Karas' tenure with the Chargers overall was rather short but it was impactful. After one year in Washington, he joined the Chargers in the team's inaugural season in 1960 and started four games. He was then made the full-time starter in 1961, officially kickstarting his All-Star streak.

He too is a member of the Chargers Hall of Fame.

4. Frank Buncom

Linebackers were obviously very important to a team's success back in the 1960s and that is evident here. Buncom is the fourth linebacker to make this list to have played in the 1960s, as he lined up next to Karas and Allen during the team's championship season.

Allen served as the middle linebacker with Karan and Buncom flanked around him. Like his teammates, Buncom was a multiple-time AFL All-Star and was arguably the best of the three.

In addition to his three AFL All-Star nods, Buncom was also named to the All-AFL Second Team twice (1964 and 1965). In total, Buncom played 84 games with the Chargers and was one of four inductees in the inaugural Chargers Hall of Fame class.

3. Gary Plummer

Finally, some modern players who did not play for the Chargers during the 1960s! Plummer is a great example of finding a diamond in the rough as he was not even drafted into the NFL. In fact, after going undrafted, Plummer spent three seasons in the USFL until it folded in 1985.

Much like how the team signed Donald Parham after the XFL folded, the Chargers signed Plummer prior to the 1986 season. Plummer instantly started for the Bolts in his first year and was a productive linebacker for many years in San Diego.

While he was never able to earn any Pro Bowl marks, Plummer turned in eight solid seasons for the Chargers and had four seasons with over 100 tackles. The one negative aspect of Plummer's tenure with the Bolts is that it ended right before the team's Super Bowl run in 1994.

Instead of being in San Diego, Plummer suited up for the team that defeated the Chargers in the Super Bowl, the San Francisco 49ers.

2. Donnie Edwards

Unlike many players on this list, Donnie Edwards did not start his career with the Chargers. Instead, Edwards spent the first six years of his NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs but did not hit his prime until he joined the Bolts in 2002.

Edwards earned his first Pro Bowl nod in his first season with the Bolts behind a five-interception, 129-tackle season. As great as that 2002 season was, it did not end up being his best season with the Bolts. In 2004 Edwards finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting behind five interceptions and 152 tackles.

Edwards' tenure with the Chargers lasted just five seasons but it was undoubtedly impactful. Seventeen interceptions and 543 solo tackles in a five-year stretch is quite impressive.

1. Junior Seau

There was never going to be anyone else. Junior Seau isn't only the best linebacker in franchise history, he is the best defensive player in franchise history. Better yet, there is a real case to be made that he is the greatest player overall in Chargers history.

The fifth overall pick out of USC was elite at the NFL level right away and there was not a single year during his 13-year Chargers run where he wasn't an elite player. In that 13-year stretch, he earned 12 Pro Bowl nods, six First-Team All-Pro nods, was named to the All-Decades team in the 1990s and was the 1992 Defensive Player of the Year.

Seau is one of the biggest fan favorites in franchise history for good reason. He defined what it meant to be a Charger in the 1990s and it is a real shame the team could never get him the Super Bowl ring he so desperately deserved.

Seau is firmly enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame not just as the best linebacker in Chargers history, but as one of the best linebackers in the history of the sport.

The top 10 linebackers in Chargers history by games played: