Chargers' strong offseason doesn't do anything for Tom Telesco in GM rankings
By Jason Reed
The LA Chargers had arguably the biggest offseason in franchise history this year with all of the moves that Tom Telesco and Brandon Staley made. Whether it was signing star free agents or making massive trades for All-Pro edge rushers, the Bolts have added to what was already an impressive core.
The Chargers are geared for a deep run in the playoffs this season, especially with Justin Herbert under center. In fact, the team's drafting in recent years (particularly in the first round) is what makes all of this possible. Herbert, Rashawn Slater, Derwin James and Joey Bosa are all All-Pro-caliber players that were drafted by LA.
While the overall success has not been there for Telesco since he took the job in 2013, it is hard to deny that he has crafted one of the most talented rosters in the league. That may not make him a top GM, but it should increase his ranking among his peers from a year ago.
But that is not the case, at least not according to Patrick Daugherty of NBC Sports. Daugherty ranks all 32 GMs in the sport every season and just released his 2022 rankings. In those rankings, Telesco is smack-dab in the middle at 15th. Not too bad for a GM that only has two playoff appearances. There is just one interesting issue with that ranking.
Chargers' GM Tom Telesco has ranked 15th every year in these rankings.
Perhaps it is simply not knowing where to put him, but Telesco has checked in as the 15th-best general manager both in the 2021 version of the rankings and the 2020 version of the rankings. There has been movement around him but somehow, some way, Telesco has stayed right in the same spot.
That is interesting because if anything, Telesco's stock has risen exponentially since the 2020 season. Heck, there were even talks of him getting fired after the 2020 season and now he looks to be in a great position with a good head coach and a stacked roster.
Again, no one is calling for Telesco to be a top-10 GM in the league, but it is hard to say that his value as a GM has completely stood still over the last three years with all of the things that have happened with the LA Chargers.
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But hey, who knows, perhaps a deep playoff run this year will finally kick Telesco off that 15th spot in the rankings. Maybe next year he will check in at 14th.