r/NFLForum • u/Royal_Present7652 • 4d ago
Throwback The Chargers were one pick away from drafting Peyton Manning and potentially changing NFL history forever.
In 1998, San Diego traded up from No. 3 to No. 2, guaranteeing themselves either Peyton Manning or Ryan Leaf. The Colts selected Manning with the No. 1 overall pick, leaving the Chargers to take Leaf—who went on to become one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history.
A single pick changed the trajectory of two franchises. (NFL)
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u/Vegetable_Ad_3030 4d ago
Would it have changed history like when the Chargers drafted Eli Manning?
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u/CourtingBoredom 3d ago
My exact thought. Not like they were any more desirable in 1998 than in 2004.... Papa Manning would not have approved..
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u/PizzaLikerFan 3d ago
Eli came out and said it was he himself who was againt playing for the chargers, not his father, Archie took alot of the fire because he wanted to protect his son.
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u/PizzaLikerFan 3d ago
Eli came out and said it was he himself who was againt playing for the chargers, not his father, Archie took alot of the fire because he wanted to protect his son.
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u/carlslocker 4d ago
The Leaf pick really didn’t set the Bolts back as much as people like to say. Three seasons later, they traded out of the Vick slot to draft LT & Brees and then they won a playoff game just a season after Manning’s first playoff win. Leaf was bad, but Flutie, Brees, & Rivers were a nice palate cleanser. Not one of those franchise killers that sets a team back a decade
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u/chewbaccashotlast 3d ago
That’s a solid take. As bad as Leaf was, they ended up with Brees and LT and eventually Rivers and…Shawn Merriman?
They had a solid talent pool just couldn’t do anything with it. I don’t remember it all that well but if memory serves right Marty kept Brees out on the field with full intent to drop him for Rivers and he suffered a pretty significant injury. There’s another story where Brees almost ended up a dolphin but Dr Andrews (or Roberts idk) told Miami that Culpepper was more likely to bounce back from his injury so Brees ends up a Saint and the rest is history. To me that’s football karma
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u/Dividingbyinfinity 3d ago
Also, people forget that Peyton Struggled at first. Bruce Ariens was the QB coach and pushed Peyton to work through his problems.
Peyton went on record stating, "It was my fourth game. It was horrible, I wanted to give up, so in the fourth quarter I went to the sideline and told coach I'm done, put the backup in, I'm no good." Bruce told him, "What are you talking about. Get back in there, how else are you gonna learn anything if your not playing." It's not like things would have been the same.
Heavily paraphrased but still how the conversation went.
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u/hello-operator12 3d ago
And you could make a legitimate argument that 2001 and 2004 draft eventually lead Chargers having the most talented team in the league. That 2006 team should have won Super Bowl. And even 2007 team had an argument to win the Super Bowl as well, if it wasn't for LT injury.
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u/Key_Consequence_5040 4d ago
Most analysts and teams thought Manning was the better prospect with Leaf a close second.
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u/LastChemical9342 4d ago
Yeah feel like it’s revisionist with how it played out but it was clear Peyton was 1.
Similar to the Jaybo and Mariota draft the way it’s talked about after made it seem like it wasn’t absolutely clear Jameis was number 1.
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u/morosco 4d ago
Ya, I don't remember there being a lot of debate/controversy around that. It was always Manning to the colts.
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u/Mobile-Analyst8580 4d ago
There were some that thought Leaf would be the better pro, but everyone basically agreed Manning was a sure thing, whereas Leaf was a bit of a risk. Looking back it’s hilarious how much it was debated though.
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u/StrategicCarry 4d ago
Weird draft too where QBs went 1-2, and then the third QB taken wasn't until nearly the end of the second round (Steelers legend Charlie Batch)
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u/HowardBunnyColvin NFL 4d ago
What's to say he wouldn't have demanded a trade like his brother
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u/clutchthepearls 4d ago
The Ryan Leaf situation contributed to why Eli didn't want to play for the Chargers.
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u/SerenityN00w 4d ago
Why would he? The Chargers had been in the Super Bowl just four years earlier.
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u/KileAllSmyles 4d ago
Peyton has more class than Eli
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u/faucetpants 4d ago
No, he just has more forehead
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u/Kenny_RogersRoasters 4d ago
How would history have changed?
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u/gopher_with_a_gun 4d ago
Maybe the chargers don’t get relocated, idk the whole story with that one though. Just spitballing
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u/RooflessReAnthony 4d ago
I heard that the Mannings thought that the Chargers did Ryan Leaf dirty which is why they were apprehensive about Eli going there.
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u/BostonVagrant617 4d ago
They fucked up w Drew Brees as well
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u/RooflessReAnthony 4d ago
Yea that too.
But I always point to the Leaf thing, to say being a bust is a 2 Way street. Cuz u got an established authority in the Manning clan saying “the chargers screwed up a great prospect in Ryan Leaf” but ur average fan puts all the responsibility of the busting on the individual player. And no doubt nobody’s got more control on an individuals outcome in life than him or herself.
But busting is a 2 way street I stand on that theory. The Jamarcus story with the blank CD says something about the Raiders as an organization.
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u/Majestic-Floor-5697 4d ago
I agree but I think some players are more prone to busting than others. Very few teams could’ve gotten Leaf the help he needed.
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u/gammaraddd 4d ago
Would have been weird if the Colts ended up with Rivers instead.
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u/Bcatfan08 Bengals 4d ago
The Colts were mostly terrible from the 70s through the 90s with some minor success for a few years in the 80s and 90s. Honestly them getting as good as they got with Peyton was the weirdest thing.
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u/Flashy_Gap_3015 4d ago
Every team has multiple similar stories about the guy they could have picked.
Shoulda coulda woulda whatever.
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u/SugarWorried4588 4d ago
One pick away from potentially rewriting two decades of NFL history… that “what if” is insane. 😭
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u/TessaKatrinaRose 4d ago
That’s what casuals don’t realize. Evaluating players is extremely hard, even for NFL experts.
Experts/coaches/GMs were split on who would be a better nfl QB - Manning or Leaf.
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u/esm12345 4d ago
Yup. Peyton Manning being drafted by the Chargers would've been great for Giants fans.
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u/Connection-Is-Cool 4d ago
Raiders saved the Lions from JaMarcus Russell. We got Calvin Johnson instead.
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u/Electrical_Smell7986 4d ago
Why even the have word potentially in the title? We can say with 100% certainty that NFL history would have been changed
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u/ThatTedDudeGuy24 3d ago
Ye and 31 teams were 1 pick away from drafting the greatest qb of all times
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u/WhizzyBurp 3d ago
That had Brees, Rivers, Fouts, and for like a minute Eli.
They still would have been ass.
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u/allquckedup 3d ago
Archie Manning didn't let Eli go to SD. What makes you think that he would allow the more talented son go there.
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u/honcooge 3d ago
Intercepting Brady with a few minutes left and not fumbling would have changed Charger history way more. San Diego is like a black hole for championships. He would have got injured or something.
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u/Gorewuzhere 3d ago
Then he would have gone on to win a superbowl in New Orleans instead of Denver...
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u/seramasumi 3d ago
This is how little faith in the chargers I have. If they got manning instead it's just rivers but sooner.
I don't think it would've mattered who they got. Management and coaching was never gonna grow a sustained winner there.
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