Ranking the Top 5 Los Angeles Chargers Quarterbacks of All Time (2024)

Although the Los Angeles Chargers have never had a quarterback lead them to a Super Bowl victory, they've had some pretty good ones in franchise history, whether in San Diego or LA.

Back in the "Air Coryell" days, Dan Fouts was slinging the football all over the place. Philip Rivers put up some monster numbers when he took over in 2004.

We took a look back at every quarterback the Bolts have ever had and put together a list of the top five. Fouts and Rivers are locks, but who joins them among the greatest QBs in Chargers history?

1 Philip Rivers

Philip Rivers started all 16 games in each season from 2006 to 2020

Rivers or Fouts? Which one is the best of the best in Chargers history? It's extremely close, but we went with Rivers' durability and consistency during his 16 seasons with the franchise.

The New York Giants drafted Rivers with the fourth overall pick in 2004, but after Eli Manning insisted he didn't want to play for the Chargers, who still took him with the No. 1 overall pick, the teams worked out a trade, and it worked out well for both.

Rivers spent the first two years of his NFL career suiting up behind Drew Brees and threw just 30 passes in those two seasons. After Brees left for the New Orleans Saints, Rivers took over as the Chargers' starter in 2006 and went 14-2, earning the first of eight Pro Bowl selections.

Rivers threw for better than 4,000 yards 12 times and is far and away the team's all-time passing leader with 59,271 yards.

In 2007, Rivers guided the Chargers to an 11-5 mark and took them to the AFC title game, which turned out to be the gutsiest performance of his career. In a 21-12 loss to the New England Patriots, Rivers played the game with a torn ACL.

Rivers was both tough and durable. Beginning in 2006, he started all 16 games every year of his career, including his final season in 2020, his lone campaign with the Indianapolis Colts.

Rivers compiled a record of 123-101 in 16 seasons with the Chargers and is also the franchise leader in touchdown passes with 397. His 63,440 career passing yards are good for sixth in NFL history.

2 Dan Fouts

After a slow start to his NFL career, Dan Fouts thrived under new coach Don Coryell

Dan Fouts and the Chargers teams of the early 1980s were wildly entertaining. Under the guidance of head coach Don Coryell, Fouts led a pass-happy offense that generated plenty of points and yards but never led the team to a title.

The Chargers selected Fouts, a product of Oregon, in the third round of the 1973 NFL Draft. During his first four years, he had trouble establishing an identity. As a rookie, he was supposed to back up the legendary Johnny Unitas, who came over after an illustrious career with the Baltimore Colts. Fouts was thrown into action when Unitas went down with an injury. He started six games in '73 and went 0-5-1.

For the next few seasons, he split time with Jesse Freitas. Inconsistent play and injuries prevented him from securing the job, but when head coach Tommy Prothro resigned early in the 1978 season, everything clicked for Fouts under Coryell. In 1978, Fouts went 9-5 as the starter, beginning his run as a top-tier QB in the NFL.

Fouts led the Chargers to double-digit victories in each of the next three seasons. In 1979, the Chargers went 12-4, and Fouts threw for an NFL-best 4,082 yards. He also led the league in completion percentage at 62.6% and earned a trip to the Pro Bowl, the first of five straight. Beginning with that '79 season, Fouts led the NFL in passing yards for four straight years and also led the league in touchdown passes in 1981 and 1982.

During the strike-shortened 1982 season, Fouts led the Chargers to a 6-3 record and finished second in the NFL MVP voting (as he did in 1979) after throwing for 2,883 yards and 17 touchdown passes. He was named Offensive Player of the Year.

Despite the shaky start to his career, Fouts went 86-84-1 with the Chargers. With Coryell leading the way, he went 73-50. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.

3 John Hadl

John Hadl had six Pro Bowl seasons with the Chargers

John Hadl spent the first 11 seasons of his 16-year NFL career with the San Diego Chargers and got off to a rough start. As a rookie, he started 10 of 14 games but went just 1-9 and threw 24 interceptions.

Hadl got rolling two years later in 1964 when he made eight starts and went 6-2 to earn Pro Bowl recognition for the first of six times in his career. In 1965, he led the league in passing with 2,798 yards while leading the Chargers to a 9-2-3 mark.

Hadl led the league in passing three times, including the 1968 season when he threw for 3,473 yards. He also tossed a league-best 27 touchdown passes.

Like Rivers, Hadl was the epitome of durability, never missing a game during his run with the Chargers. He tossed 201 touchdown passes, good for third on the team's all-time list behind Rivers and Fouts. His 26,938 passing yards are also third in team history.

With Hadl under center as the team's starter, the Chargers went 59-54-9.

4 Stan Humphries

Stan Humphries led the Chargers to their only Super Bowl appearance

Stan Humphries played only six seasons with the San Diego Chargers, but he's the only quarterback to ever lead the franchise to a berth in the Super Bowl.

After playing two seasons in Washington, Humphries joined the Chargers in 1992 and made an immediate impact, going 11-4 in his 15 starts and throwing for 3,356 yards and 16 touchdown passes. San Diego had done 4-12 the previous season.

In 1994, Humphries again went 11-4 in 15 starts, leading the team into the playoffs. Humphries rallied San Diego from a 21-6 halftime deficit and led them to a 22-21 victory over the Miami Dolphins in the Divisional Round, setting up a meeting with the heavily favored Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC title game. Again, the Chargers trailed late, and Humphries helped turn a 13-3 third-quarter deficit into a 17-13 victory.

The Chargers faced the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 29, but the magic ran out as the Niners cruised to a 49-26 victory.

Humphries went 47-29 during his time as the starting quarterback for the Chargers and ranks fifth on the team's all-time passing list with 16,085 yards.

5 Drew Brees

Drew Brees spent five seasons with the Chargers before his career took off with the Saints

It won't be long before Justin Herbert makes his way into the No. 5 spot, but for now, Drew Brees takes the final slot.

While Brees truly made a name for himself with the New Orleans Saints, he got started by playing five years with the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers took a shot with the Purdue quarterback in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft after many questioned his size. The 6-foot Brees proved all the doubters wrong and earned the first of his 13 Pro Bowl selections with the Bolts.

That came during the 2004 season when he went 11-4 in his 15 starts, threw for 3,159 yards, and tossed 27 touchdown passes.

Brees threw just 27 passes as a rookie before starting all 16 games in his second NFL season, going 8-8 and completing 60.8% of his passes. In 2003, Brees had a down year, going 2-9 and throwing 15 interceptions before rebounding with his Pro Bowl season in '04.

In 2005, he went 9-7 and finished his career in San Diego with a 30-28 record. Despite his short time with the Chargers, Brees is sixth on the team's all-time passing list with 12,348 yards.

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise.