Ranking the Top 5 Los Angeles Chargers Wide Receivers of All Time

From the “Air Coryell” and Dan Fouts to “Marty Ball” to Philip Rivers, the

Los Angeles Chargers

franchise has had some excellent passing games over the years, whether stationed in San Diego or LA. And while the Chargers have had two of the best tight ends in

NFL

history in Antonio Gates and Kellen Winslow, the wide receivers aren’t too shabby either.

As an original AFL franchise, this team started its pro football journey in 1960, and the first player on the best Chargers receivers of all time list came to San Diego in 1962. The most recent WR who made the cut here played with the team as recently as 2023.

These great Chargers receivers come in all shapes and sizes, and they got to the top of the mountain in different ways. The one thing they all share, though, is that they electrified fans on the West Coast while wearing that iconic bolt on their helmets.

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1

Lance Alworth

Lance Alworth was simply one of the best and most dominant wide receivers to ever play in the AFL

Lance Alworth was a hot commodity coming out of Arkansas in 1962. He was the eighth overall pick in the NFL draft by the

San Francisco 49ers

and the ninth overall pick in the AFL draft of the

Las Vegas Raiders

franchise. A draft-day trade with the Raiders, then in Oakland, sent Alworth to the Chargers, and he decided to take his talents to the AFL.

Alworth played sparingly as a rookie, then lit the league on fire in his second season. In 14 games, the WR made 61 catches for 1,205 yards and 11 touchdowns. While it wouldn’t be his best statistical season, it did win Alworth the UPI AFL Player of the Year Award and got him into the AFL All-Star Game and on the First-Team All-AFL squad. He barely lost the AP AFL POY Award to his own quarterback, Tobin Rote.

Over seven seasons, from 1963 to 1969, Alworth led the league in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns three times while making seven All-Star Games and six First-Team All-AFL squads. He also finished in the top five of POY voting in six of those seven years.

In his nine seasons in San Diego, Alworth made 493 catches for 9,584 yards and 81 touchdowns, which make the Hall of Famer sixth, second, and second, respectively, in franchise history.

2

Charlie Joiner

Charlie Joiner is the WR who helped make the ‘Air Coryell’ offense what it became

As Lance Alworth’s career with the Chargers was winding down, Charlie Joiner was starting his NFL journey as a fourth-round pick of the Houston Oilers in 1969. After three and a half seasons with the Oilers and another three and a half with the

Cincinnati Bengals

, the latter traded Joiner to the Chargers in the 1976 offseason.

Joiner recorded his first 1,000-yard season and made his first Pro Bowl in ’76 before two decent, but not nearly as good, seasons in ’77 and ’78. The next season, big things happened in Southern California as the Chargers brought in San Diego State head coach Don Coryell. The “Air Coryell” offense revolutionized the modern passing game and made it what we know today.

The Louisiana native was a huge part of that passing revolution and helped Fouts rack up some monster passing numbers. Joiner had three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons under Coryell and two additional 900-plus-yard campaigns. He made three Pro Bowls in total and earned one First-Team All-Pro selection.

Joiner retired after the 1986 season, with 586 catches, 9,203 yards, and 81 touchdowns while wearing the bolt, which is third, fourth, and fifth in team history. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996.

3

Keenan Allen

Keenan Allen was the go-to guy for Philip Rivers and for Justin Herbert during his decade-plus with the Chargers

In more recent times,

Keenan Allen

has carried the mantle of the best Chargers wide receivers of all time. While now with the

Chicago Bears

, the WR spent the first 11 seasons of his career in San Diego and Los Angeles.

Allen was a third-round pick out of Cal and quickly became a favorite target for Philip Rivers, catching 71 balls for 1,046 yards as a rookie in 2013 and finishing second in the Offensive Rookie of the Year race to

Green Bay Packers

running back Eddie Lacy.

The 6-foot-2, 211-pound pass-catcher had solid seasons in the next two years but tore his ACL in Week 1 of the 2016 campaign. However, Allen came back so strong in 2017 — 102 receptions, 1,393 yards, six TDs, and a Pro Bowl — that he won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award.

This is pretty much how Allen’s Chargers career went throughout. He had six total Pro Bowls and six 1,000-plus-yard seasons but also missed multiple games in six different campaigns. When healthy, Allen was one of the best to ever do it for the Chargers, as evidenced by the fact that his 10,530 receiving yards are the most by any wideout in team history and trail only Kellen Winslow’s 11,841.

While Allen is probably a borderline Pro Football Hall of Famer at this point, he will someday be in the Chargers’ HOF without a doubt.

4

Gary Garrison

You might not remember the name Gary Garrison, but you’ll find it near the top of the Chargers’ record books

Gary Garrison isn’t a name that is as well known as the ones above on the list of the best Chargers wide receivers of all time. But don’t sleep on what the 6-foot-2, 193-pound WR did while in San Diego.

Garrison grew up not far from the Chargers’ stadium in Long Beach, California, and played his college football at San Diego State. The Bolts made him a first-round pick in the AFL draft, while the

Philadelphia Eagles

took him in the sixth round of the 1965 NFL Draft.

The WR played 11 of his 12 pro football seasons with the Chargers and made four Pro Bowls in that time, leading his team in receiving four times. Garrison had only two 1,000-plus-yard seasons, but after more than a decade with the franchise, he compiled a lot of catches, yards, and touchdowns.

When Garrison left the Chargers following the 1976 campaign, he had 404 receptions, 7,533 yards, and 84 touchdowns. Almost 50 years after his final game, Garrison is still eighth, fifth, and third, respectively, in those categories.

5

Anthony Miller

The small WR with sprinter speed made some big plays on some bad teams in San Diego

Anthony Miller is another semi-local Chargers great who grew up in Pasadena and went to San Diego State on a track scholarship. When the school wouldn’t let him play football as well, though, he ultimately transferred to Tennessee.

Despite him suffering a knee injury in college, the Chargers took the 5-foot-11 speedster 15th overall in the 1988 NFL Draft. Miller would go on to play six seasons in San Diego, making four of his five career Pro Bowls with the team, the other coming with the

Denver Broncos

.

In addition to putting up three 1,000-plus-yard seasons, Miller also returned 50 kicks — primarily in his first two seasons — for 1,269 yards and two touchdowns.

Miller was an explosive player, and Chargers fans have to wonder what would have happened if he played on better teams. The WR played for three different coaches — Al Saunders, Dan Henning, and Bobby Ross — with five different primary starting QBs in Mike Malone, Jim McMahon, Billy Joe Tolliver, John Freisz, and Stan Humphries.

Even with all the turnover, Miller still led the Chargers in receiving yards five times and posted 374 catches, 5,582 yards, and 37 touchdowns while with the franchise.

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise.

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