Despite never winning a Super Bowl, the LA Chargers have one of the most impressive list of quarterbacks in franchise history. There have been some pretty awful ones (looking at you, Ryan Leaf) but for the most part, the quarterback position has been stable for the Bolts.
Coming up with a top-five quarterbacks list in franchise history is a lot easier to do with the Chargers than other teams simply because there are fewer candidates. However, there are still some surprises on the list, as well as some quarterbacks that younger fans might not be familiar with.
The two greatest quarterbacks in franchise history are painfully obvious, but who ranks where is less obvious. With that in mind, let's dive into the five greatest quarterbacks in Chargers franchise history.
Chargers greatest quarterbacks: 5. John Hadl
John Hadl ranks third in franchise history in passing touchdowns, passing yards and games started. If we wanted to be lazy, we would just rank him third as there are only two players in franchise history that have done more in total than Hadl.
That being said, Hadl was simply the Chargers quarterback for over a decade and that is how he was able to rack up so many counting stats. In the grand scheme, Hadl wasn't that great of a quarterback as his completion percentage was barely over 50% and he nearly threw more interceptions than touchdowns.
Granted, the game was different back then but it would be a disservice to rank Hadl above the other quarterbacks on this list simply because he spent a decent amount of time under center with the competition wasn't very good.
Chargers greatest quarterbacks: 4. Justin Herbert
Younger fans would undoubtedly have Justin Herbert higher on this list than No. 4. There are probably a lot of fans that were taken aback by him ranking so low on this list with how well he has played in his three years in the NFL.
If anything, the fact that Herbert even cracked the top five should be celebrated. To do so after just three years in the NFL, without a playoff win for the team yet, is quite an accomplishment. To rank ahead of the third-best quarterback in terms of output in franchise history is also an achievement in itself.
The justification for ranking Herbert this high is simple: he might be the most talented player to ever take a snap at quarterback for the Chargers. The game is different now and the Chargers' usage of Herbert is even high in today's game but he can still do things that other QBs on this list can't.
Herbert already has the best season in franchise history as he broke multiple franchise records in his sophomore season. With his two injuries from 2022 behind him, Herbert might break those records that he established in 2023.
Herbert will undoubtedly climb on this list and if he wins a Super Bowl as early as 2023 then he might shoot all the way up to one as he would have accomplished something no other QB could. As it stands right now, Herbert checks in at No. 4.
Greatest Chargers quarterbacks: 3. Stan Humphries
Was Stan Humphries a more talented quarterback than Justin Herbert? Absolutely not. If you put Humphries at his best on the 2022 Chargers with all the injuries that they sustained then the team probably would have won seven games at most.
Heck, Humphries doesn't even have the advantage of having more counting stats than Herbert. Herbert already has more passing touchdowns than Humphries despite playing in 30 fewer games. Humphries still has the edge in passing yards but that is going to change after the 2023 season.
So why does Humphries rank ahead of Herbert on the all-time list? Simple: he has accomplished something that no other quarterback in franchise history has done. Humphries was under center for the Bolts in the team's lone Super Bowl appearance against the San Fransico 49ers.
Granted, Humphries didn't necessarily have the best game in the AFC Championship to get the Chargers to that point but he did throw the only two touchdowns of the game. Humphries was never a Pro Bowler, never threw for 20 touchdowns and never won a playoff game after making the Super Bowl.
But like it or not, he is the only quarterback to play in the big game and until Herbert wins one playoff game, he is going to rank behind him.
Greatest Chargers quarterbacks of all time: 2. Dan Fouts
This is where it gets really interesting as the top-two quarterbacks in franchise history are very obvious. There is a legitimate debate on who should rank No. 1 but at the end of the day, Dan Fouts should check in as the second-best quarterback in franchise history.
Fouts definitely has a case to being No. 1, though. Not only is he already in the Hall of Fame and has the numbers to back it up but he is a true trailblazer. Fouts quarterbacked the Air Coryell offense, which completely rewrote how the game of football was played in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
If Fouts had a better defense maybe he would have a Super Bowl ring to his name and he would rank No. 1 on this list. But he doesn't and his numbers without Coryell weren't as impressive, so he checks in as the No. 2 quarterback in franchise history.
Fouts is second in franchise history in passing touchdowns, passing yards and the most interceptions. His trailblazing nature is a good notch in his toolbelt but his career 86-84-1 record does hold him back from being No. 1.
Greatest Chargers quarterback of all time: Philip Rivers
Those that argue in favor of Fouts as the greatest quarterback in franchise history would argue that recency bias is helping Philip Rivers' case. And while recency bias is a very real thing, that is not the reason why he is the best quarterback in franchise history.
The numbers simply don't lie. As trailblazing as Fouts was, he still ranks behind Rivers in all-time passing yards and touchdowns. Rivers is the most decorated quarterback in franchise history and if he would have played in Fouts' era in that offense he would have been better than Fouts. It is not Rivers' fault he was overshadowed by Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
Rivers has a better lifetime record, 123-101, and he made the playoffs six times as opposed to Fouts' four. Could you make the case that Rivers had better teams early on in his career? Sure. But he also had some really bad teams around him that he carried to relevancy.
Only six other quarterbacks in NFL history finished their career with at least 60,000 passing yards and 400 passing touchdowns. If we bump those numbers up to 63,000 passing yards and 420 touchdowns, both of which Rivers has, then there are only four other quarterbacks to do so. Those four quarterbacks are Brady, Manning, Drew Brees and Brett Favre.
It is a real shame that Rivers could never get a Super Bowl ring as bad luck and his own franchise often got in the way. If Marlon McCree doesn't fumble against the New England Patriots in 2006 then Rivers' legacy is probably completely different. But at the end of the day, he is still the best QB in franchise history.