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Ad-free: San Diego gambling on Eli Manning was a big deal
🕑 Added 2025-09-05 17:40:49 +0000 UTCWhat's good y'all. It's me, Joe, coming with another ad-free video that my boy JZ helped me cook up. Word of advice for any franchises and general managers: If an athlete explicitly tells you not to draft them, maybe it's best to listen! It’s night one of the 2004 NFL Draft, and as owners of the Number One pick, the San Diego Chargers messed around and found out. They wanted a quarterback, and by all accounts, the top-rated prospect of the draft was QB Eli Manning out of Ole Miss University. Buttttt, Eli didn't wanna be a Charger. What followed was a set of bizarre events that shaped two franchises and may never be repeated ever again during a draft night. San Diego’s decision to draft Eli Manning was a Big Deal.
Comments
Richard Angle
Chargers would still find a way to choke in the playoffs. The only reason the 94 team made the superbowl is because the Dolphin and Steeler teams of the 90s were also jinxed and one of those 3 teams had to get in.
Kalslaffin
Great content as always guys!
Ricky Flames
As a long suffering Chargers fan, I do wonder what would have happened if we'd have taken Eli (or stuck with Brees), but then I remember the years of raw joy and emotion Filipe Rios gave us and I realise I wouldn't trade that for anything. Sport doesn't always have to be about winning (and isn't for the vast majority of time).
