NFL writer has Chargers making best first overall pick in draft this century

The Chargers’ organization has certainly had its share of outstanding quarterbacks. Of course, there was the one that kinda got away earlier this century.

Nov 8, 2009; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (left) and San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers talk prior to game at Giants Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim O'Connor-Imagn Images | Jim O'Connor-Imagn Images

It was reminiscent of the 1983 NFL Draft. The Baltimore Colts, off a winless season (0-8-1) during the league’s strike-shortened campaign, were poised to make Stanford University quarterback John Elway the first overall selection, and did just that. Jack Elway, John’s father and a longtime football head coach, said afterwards during a phone interview (via Michael Janofsky of the New York Times) that his son “will never play for (owner Robert) Irsay or Coach (Frank) Kush.”

The elder Elway also explained that he told the Colts that John would not play for the team “before Christmas,” which made Baltimore’s decision a bit more perplexing. John Elway had said he would play professional baseball if the Colts selected him, and after the draft stated “Right now it looks like I’ll be playing baseball with the Yankees. It will be a couple of days, or maybe even two weeks, before I make the final decision. We haven’t ruled out football, but it doesn't look good right now.”

Of course, Elway would eventually be dealt to the Denver Broncos. He played his entire 16-year career in the Mile High City, his final two seasons resulting in a pair of Super Bowl titles. He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

Earlier this week, Bryan DeArdo of CBS Sports ranked the 25 players taken first overall in the NFL draft this century (2000-24). The Raiders’ selection of quarterback JaMarcus Russell in 2007 ranked last in the list. As for the top spot, DeArdo has Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning, selected by the then-San Diego Chargers in 2004, as his choice.

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Huh?

Of course, Peyton Manning’s younger brother never played for the Chargers. In a saga reminiscent of the Elway deal to the Broncos, the New York Giants wound up acquiring the rights to Eli Manning, and sending the rights to quarterback Philip Rivers (selected fourth overall) to San Diego in a multi-faced deal. Talk about déjà vu a mere 21 years later?

Part of DeArdo’s reasoning for putting Eli Manning at No. 1 was pretty simple. “We can argue all day about Manning's legacy as an all-time great quarterback (he wasn't inducted into the Hall of Fame during his first year of eligibility), but you can’t argue his legacy as a two-time Super Bowl champion and two-time Super Bowl MVP.”

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Give the Chargers the nod for having an eye for a Super Bowl winning signal-caller. Of course, Rivers would become the team’s fulltime starter in 2006. He succeeded Drew Brees, who the team drafted in the second round in 2001. He would also go on to win a Lombardi Trophy and Super Bowl MVP honors…with the Saints.

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