The San Diego Chargers made the worst pick in their entire franchise history, when they picked Ryan Leaf as there number two pick in 1998. Leaf was a standout quarterback in college, but he never reached the superstar level that the Falcons hoped he would. I can just see the Charger’s front office drooling over Leaf, after all, Leaf was the Pac-10’s Offensive Player of the Year, throwing more than 30 touchdowns, a Pac-10 record. So it was no wonder why the Chargers hoped he would lead their team in the future.

The Chargers were fooled by Leaf’s achievements at the University of Washington. It was no surprise that after his first few season, Leaf was the laughing stock of the whole league. His rookie season was less than stellar and before the season was started, Leaf was fined for skipping a mandatory symposium. In Ryan’s third professional game, he went 1-15 and was benched after throwing two touchdown passes and thirteen interceptions in nine games. Not a good start for the player you drafted in the first round.

Not only did Leaf play poorly for the Chargers, he didn’t get along with his teammates very much and he seemed to hate the media. In one incident, Leaf told a reporter to “Just fucking don’t talk to me”. And to make matters worst, he had to be restrained by teammate Junior Seau. Leaf wasn’t very friendly with fans either. He went after a heckler at practice and a few coaches had to make sure it went no farther. Talk about bad draft choice for a franchise trying to get more fans.

The final straw came when he was giving the chance to start over in 2000, but it was to no avail. The Chargers released him after the season and ended one of their most troubled time as a franchise.

- John A. Roberts

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Tags | Football, Junior Seau, Ryan Leaf, San Diego Chargers, worst football draft pick