The Los Angeles Chargers are an American football franchise who play in the National Football League (NFL). They began play in Los Angeles in 1960 as charter members of the American Football League (AFL), switched cities to San Diego the following season, and returned to the Greater Los Angeles area in 2017. The AFL was formed as rivals to the established NFL, though the leagues would later merge, with all AFL teams including the Chargers officially joining the NFL in 1970.

Every year during April, each NFL franchise seeks to add new players to its roster through a collegiate draft, known as the NFL draft. The Chargers took part in the rival AFL draft for the first seven years of their existence, meaning that they had to compete for new players' signatures with whichever club had picked them in the NFL draft. Their first draft selection was Monty Stickles, an end from the University of Notre Dame. Unlike all future picks, he was not chosen by the Chargers themselves, but rather assigned in a territorial draft at a meeting of the AFL's original owners. Stickles never played for the Chargers as he chose to sign for the San Francisco 49ers instead; overall, the Chargers were unable to sign their first-round selection four times during their first seven years. After that, the two leagues conducted a common draft, ending the inter-league bidding war. Over a decade later, the original United States Football League (USFL) challenged the NFL by conducting its own collegiate drafts from 1983 to 1986. The Chargers temporarily lost two of their first-round picks (Gary Anderson and Mossy Cade) to USFL clubs, though both joined the NFL in 1985 as the USFL struggled financially.

In the NFL draft, teams are ranked in inverse order based on the previous season's record, with the worst record picking first, and the second worst picking second and so on. Teams have the option of trading away their picks to other teams for different picks, players, or a combination thereof. Thus, it is not uncommon for a team's actual draft pick to differ from their assigned draft pick, or for a team to have extra or no draft picks in any round due to these trades. The Chargers have been without a first-round pick eight times in their history, including six times in seven years from 1994 to 2000. They have possessed two first-round picks on seven different occasions; once, in 1983, they had three such picks.

The Chargers have twice been in possession of the No. 1 overall pick, though in neither case has the player selected played for them. In 2001, they traded the No. 1 pick to the Atlanta Falcons before the draft for three draft picks and one player; the Falcons selected Michael Vick, while the Chargers chose LaDainian Tomlinson with the No. 5 overall pick. In 2004, the projected No. 1 pick, Eli Manning, stated that he would not play in San Diego. The Chargers still selected him, but quickly traded the player to the New York Giants for Philip Rivers (who the Giants had just drafted at No. 4 overall) and three draft picks, one of which was used to select Shawne Merriman in the first round the following season.

Twenty-five of the Chargers' first round selections have been nominated for at least one Pro Bowl or AFL All-Star game; Junior Seau has the most such nominations, with twelve. Three have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Kellen Winslow, Seau and Tomlinson.

The team's most recent first-round pick was Akheem Mesidor, a linebacker from Miami selected No. 22 overall in 2026. They have chosen 34 defensive players in the first round, and 35 offensive players; defensive linemen have been the most common position, with 13 selected. Ohio State, Tennessee, Texas, TCU and Notre Dame are tied for the most players chosen by the Chargers from one university, with three selections each.

Player selections Key^ Indicates the player was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame† Indicates the player was selected for the Pro Bowl or AFL All-Star game at any time in their career* Selected number one overall‡ Current Charger: statistics correct through 2025 season— The Chargers did not draft a player in the first round that year.Year Each year links to an article about that particular NFL Draft.Pick Indicates the number of the pick within the first roundPosition Indicates the position of the player in the NFLCollege The player's college football teamSeasons The number of seasons in which the player had at least one appearance for the ChargersPro Bowls The number of seasons in which the player was voted to the Pro Bowl or AFL All-Star game as a ChargerGames Regular season games in which the player appeared for the ChargersStarts Regular season games in which the player started for the Chargers

Position abbreviations C Center CB Cornerback DE Defensive end DT Defensive tackle E End FB Fullback G Guard LB Linebacker QB Quarterback RB Running back S Safety T Tackle TE Tight end WR Wide receiver

+Los Angeles Chargers first-round draft picksYearPickPlayer namePositionCollegeStats with ChargersNotesRefSeasonsPro BowlsGamesStarts 1960 N/A E Notre Dame 0 0 0 0 Territorial selection, assigned by the AFL's original owners. Signed for the NFL's San Francisco 49ers instead. 1961 † DE Indiana 6 5 67 64 1962 FB Ohio State 0 0 0 0 Signed for the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers 1963 † G Syracuse 11 9 154 140 1964 LB Georgia Tech 0 0 0 0 Signed for the NFL's Baltimore Colts 1965 † DE Tennessee 7 1 89 75 1966 DT Los Angeles State 0 0 0 0 Signed for the NFL's New York Giants 1967 DT Wyoming 4 0 44 25 1968 † T Missouri 15 5 200 196 Pick received in trade with Denver Broncos CB Texas A&M–Kingsville 3 0 42 38 1969 QB Columbia 3 0 22 6 Pick received in trade with Denver Broncos LB Miami (OH) 3 0 42 36 1970 WR Richmond 2 0 25 1 1971 RB Long Beach State 1 0 14 4 1972— — No pick — — — — — — Pick traded to Green Bay Packers 1973 WR Nebraska 2 0 17 7 Original pick traded to Philadelphia Eagles. Acquired another first-round pick from the Colts in a separate trade. Initially signed for CFL's Montreal Alouettes. Joined the Chargers in 1977. 1974 RB Colorado 6 0 78 31 LB Kansas 6 0 81 62 Pick received in trade with Cleveland Browns 1975 † DT Grambling State 10 4 134 123 CB LSU 8 0 107 101 Pick received in trade with Washington Redskins 1976 † RB Oklahoma 1 0 13 0 1977 C Memphis 5 0 70 12 Moved down the draft order in trade with Dallas Cowboys 1978 † WR Arizona State 3 3 45 45 1979 ^ TE Missouri 9 5 109 94 Moved up the draft order in trade with Cleveland Browns 1980— — No pick — — — — — — Pick traded to Green Bay Packers 1981 † RB Auburn 3 0 38 8 1982— — No pick — — — — — — Initially moved up the draft order in trade with Green Bay Packers. Traded new first-round pick to the Saints 12 days later. 1983 LB Arkansas 10 0 126 111 Moved up the draft order in trade with San Francisco 49ers † RB Arkansas 4 1 54 38 Pick received in trade with Green Bay Packers. Initially signed for USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits. Joined the Chargers in 1985. † CB San Jose State 10 2 149 146 Pick initially traded to San Francisco 49ers. Regained in subsequent trade. 1984 S Texas 0 0 0 0 Initially signed for USFL's Memphis Showboats. NFL signing rights later traded to Green Bay Packers. 1985 † T Ohio State 3 1 44 43 1986 † DE Oklahoma State 9 6 133 125 Acquired extra first-round pick in trade with Green Bay Packers. Subsequently moved up the draft order in trade with Minnesota Vikings. T USC 4 0 38 14 1987 RB Texas A&M 6 0 63 25 Moved down the draft order in trade with Cleveland Browns 1988 † WR Tennessee 6 4 93 91 1989 DE Pittsburgh 5 0 72 71 1990 ^ LB USC 13 12 200 199 1991 S Texas 4 0 61 60 1992 DE Tennessee 7 0 93 57 Original pick traded to Washington Redskins. Acquired another first-round pick from the Oilers in a separate trade. 1993 CB Stanford 3 0 48 29 1994— — No pick — — — — — — Pick traded to San Francisco 49ers 1995— — No pick — — — — — — Pick traded to Carolina Panthers 1996— — No pick — — — — — — Pick traded to Detroit Lions 1997— — No pick — — — — — — Pick traded to Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1998 QB Washington State 2 0 21 18 Moved up the draft order in trade with Arizona Cardinals 1999— — No pick — — — — — — Pick traded to Arizona Cardinals 2000— — No pick — — — — — — Pick traded to Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2001 ^ RB TCU 9 5 141 141 Moved down the draft order in trade with Atlanta Falcons 2002 CB Texas 11 0 172 161 2003 CB Texas A&M 3 0 44 30 Moved down the draft order in trade with Philadelphia Eagles 2004 *† QB Mississippi 0 0 0 0 Manning was traded to the New York Giants an hour after being drafted. 2005 † LB Maryland 6 3 60 53 Pick received in trade with New York Giants DE Northwestern 7 0 82 79 2006 † CB Florida State 4 1 64 39 2007 WR LSU 4 0 25 2 2008 CB Arizona 5 0 80 49 2009 LB Northern Illinois 5 0 52 9 2010 † RB Fresno State 5 1 60 52 Moved up the draft order in trade with Miami Dolphins 2011 DT Illinois 8 0 108 103 2012 † DE South Carolina 9 3 113 96 2013 T Alabama 4 0 59 59 2014 † CB TCU 4 1 25 22 2015 † RB Wisconsin 5 2 67 62 Moved up the draft order in trade with San Francisco 49ers 2016 † DE Ohio State 9 5 107 93 2017 ‡ WR Clemson 7 0 88 62 2018 † ‡ S Florida State 7 5 98 98 2019 DT Notre Dame 4 0 54 29 2020 † ‡ QB Oregon 6 2 95 95 LB Oklahoma 4 0 59 53 Pick received in trade with New England Patriots 2021 † ‡ T Northwestern 4 2 51 51 2022 ‡ G Boston College 4 0 66 65 2023 ‡ WR TCU 3 0 46 31 2024 † ‡ T Notre Dame 2 1 22 22 2025 ‡ RB North Carolina 1 0 9 6 2026 ‡ LB Miami 0 0 0 0

Breakdowns +Breakdown by college (min. 2)CollegeCountMost recent Notre Dame 3 Joe Alt (2024) Ohio State 3 Joey Bosa (2016) Tennessee 3 Chris Mims (1992) Texas 3 Quentin Jammer (2002) TCU 3 Quentin Johnston (2023) Arkansas 2 Gary Anderson (1983) Florida State 2 Derwin James (2018) LSU 2 Craig Davis (2007) Missouri 2 Kellen Winslow (1979) Northwestern 2 Rashawn Slater (2021) Oklahoma 2 Kenneth Murray (2020) Texas A&M 2 Sammy Davis (2003) USC 2 Junior Seau (1990) +Breakdown by positionPositionCountMost recent Defensive line (DE, DL) 13 Jerry Tillery (2019) Defensive back (CB, S) 12 Derwin James (2018) Running back (FB, RB) 11 Omarion Hampton (2025) Offensive line (C, G, T) 9 Joe Alt (2024) Linebacker (LB) 9 Akheem Mesidor (2026) Wide receiver (WR) 7 Quentin Johnston (2023) Quarterback (QB) 4 Justin Herbert (2020) Tight end (E, TE) 2 Kellen Winslow (1979)

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