Steve Cook’s journey through the NFL quarterback rooms continues as he takes a look at the Top 5 San Diego Chargers QBs!

It seems like the Chargers have always been stuck in the shadow of others. When I was a kid, when people talked about the best AFC West team they’d talk endlessly about the Broncos or Raiders. Now, it’s the Chiefs. These teams’ top players get all the hype while the Chargers’ top stars have mostly been undervalued, with the exception of LaDainian Tomlinson by fantasy owners during the late 2000s.

Heck, the Chargers even get overlooked in their own new city.

Only five quarterbacks have played more than fifty games & thrown for over 10,000 yards for the San Diego/Los Angeles Super Chargers. What I’m saying is that it was pretty easy to pick five quarterbacks for this list. Putting them in order? Now we have somewhat of an interesting challenge.

5. Drew Brees

At this point, it’s easy to forget that Brees actually started his career in San Diego. It’s an important part of his story, though. Brees didn’t look like a future legend his first couple of seasons, in fact it looked like the concerns about his size & arm strength were well-founded. He was benched for Doug Flutie (speaking of size) in 2003 after a miserable 1-7 start, but 2004 saw Brees break out. 27 touchdowns, 7 interceptions and his first Pro Bowl selection on a team that went from worst in the AFC West to first. He was even named Comeback Player of the Year for his efforts.

Brees’ 2005 season was a tick below his 2004 numbers but still very good, and enough to keep young Philip Rivers in the backup role. A torn labrum in his throwing shoulder in the last game of the season raised some doubts about his long-term effectiveness. With Rivers waiting in the wings, San Diego made a contract offer that Brees thought he could do better than.

He got a better deal from the Saints, and the rest will be talked about in the Top 5 New Orleans Saints Quarterbacks column.

4. Stan Humphries

Humphries is one of those guys that when you look back on the list of quarterbacks to lead a team to a Super Bowl, you go “How’d that happen?”. Indeed, it’s strange that the one Chargers quarterback to lead the team to the Super Bowl wasn’t the one in the Hall of Fame, or one of the two that’ll be in the Hall of Fame in a few years. Also, those Chargers teams are more thought of as Junior Seau’s Chargers than Stan Humphries’ Chargers. Humphries was solid enough in the QB role though, and led the Chargers to two comeback victories during the 1994 playoffs. Unfortunately, the 49ers’ lead during Super Bowl XXIX was way too much to overcome.

Humphries’ career was shortened by concussions, as he was forced to retire in 1997 at the age of 32. This led to a couple of years of bumbling before the Chargers drafted…Ryan Leaf. Yeah.

3. John Hadl

Hadl was picked tenth overall in the 1962 NFL Draft, but decided he’d rather play in the AFL with the Chargers than go to Detroit. The quarterback position was crowded during Hadl’s first couple of seasons with the club, but he separated himself from the pack with a Pro Bowl selection & a 6-2 record in 1964. 1965 saw Hadl lead the AFL in passing yards, a feat he would replicate in 1968 with a career high of 3,473. He lead the league twice in touchdown passes, but also led the league twice in interceptions.

Hadl was selected to five Pro Bowls during his time with the Chargers. How one gets selected to the Pro Bowl when throwing 26 interceptions in a season, I have no idea, but times were different. Hadl ran one of the best AFL offenses & helped the Chargers transition to the NFL.

2. Dan Fouts

Throwing for 4,000 passing yards in a season was nearly unheard of when Fouts was quarterbacking the Chargers. Joe Namath had set the record with 4,007 passing yards in 1967. While Fouts showed some potential his first few seasons in San Diego, it was the hire of Don Coryell as head coach that shot Fouts into the record books. Coryell’s deep passing game was the perfect fit for Fouts, who went on to throw for over 4,000 yards in three straight seasons. His 4,802 passing yards in 1981 wouldn’t last for too long as a record, as Dan Marino would surpass it by throwing for 5,084 yards in 1984.

Fouts would lead the NFL in passing for four straight seasons & be selected to six Pro Bowls. He was the second quarterback to throw for over thirty touchdowns in two separate seasons. He ws selected to the NFL’s All 1980s Team and was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993. Chargers fans voted him as the Greatest Charger of All Time in 2009.

Honorable Mention: Tobin Rote

Rote had already had an eventful career before arriving in San Diego at the age of 35. He set an NFL record in 1956 with a total of twenty-nine touchdowns, eighteen passing & eleven rushing. Unfortunately, the Packers around him weren’t so great, and he moved on to the Lions in 1957, where he helped lead the team to a championship after starter Bobby Layne got hurt in Week 11. The two seasons afterward weren’t as good, and Rote ended up in the CFL with the Toronto Argonauts. After three seasons, highlighted by setting a single-season touchdown record & becoming the second QB to throw for over 4,000 yards in 1960, Rote signed with the Chargers in 1963. All he did was lead the team to their first (and currently only) league championship.

1. Philip Rivers

The Chargers took Eli Manning with the first pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, but Eli didn’t want to go to San Diego. Things ended up all right, as Eli went to the Giants while the Chargers got four draft picks. One of which was Rivers, who ended up waiting two years to start while Drew Brees revitalized his career. Once Rivers got in the lineup at the start of the 2006 season, he stayed in it until the end of the 2019 season. Rivers’ streak of starting 240 games (including his final season with Indianapolis) is second only to Brett Favre’s 297.

Rivers rewrote the Chargers’ record books during his lengthy run with the franchise. He leads the team in every relevant passing category, except in interceptions. He wasn’t able to beat Fouts’ single season passing record, but did throw for over 4,000 yards in eleven seasons with the Chargers. He was selected to eight Pro Bowls and was named Comeback Player of the Year in 2013 after two relatively down seasons. Rivers is fifth all-time in passing yards & fifth all-time in passing touchdowns

Like Fouts, the main thing lacking from his resume is playoff success, but Rivers did earn respect by playing the 2007 AFC Championship Game on a torn ACL. If Rivers had played on a team with more playoff success, or spent more time in front of the microphone, he would have received a lot more coverage & respect than he did during his career.

Thanks for reading! Join us next time when we look at LA’s NFC team, the Rams!