What If Ryan Leaf Had Stayed Healthy? The SB Nation NFL team sites are continuing to do Theme Weeks after starting the trend during the 2017 season. This week’s theme is: “What if?”Ask any San Diego Chargers fan (I’ll get to you Womens Customized Los Angeles Chargers Jerseys , L.A.) what the biggest mistake in franchise history was and you’re bound to hear the same answer 100% of the time: Ryan LeafWith the #2 overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft, the Chargers selected QB Ryan Leaf from Washington State. You could hear a million arguments at the time of why the Indianapolis Colts should, and should not, draft Peyton Manning with the #1 pick. Many thought Ryan Leaf had a better future because he had a better arm. Leaf, who wanted to follow in the footsteps of Dan Fouts, had made his mind up. He worked with his agent to anger Colts Head Coach Jim Mora Sr. and worked behind the scenes to let the Chargers know that he was doing so to ensure he could be the next Chargers QB. He may have been the 2nd pick in the draft, but Ryan ended up with his #1 choice.Read here about how Leaf was not what you would call a “draft bust” early in his career. In fact, it wasn’t until he faced a serious shoulder injury followed by a serious wrist injury that things really went sideways for the former Cougar.Why is that important? After three years www.chargersauthorizedshops.com , Leaf’s body was so beat up that he couldn’t throw a football. A real shame for a guy who some still talk about having one of the biggest arms in college football history. A real shame for a guy that wanted to come to the Chargers so that he could show off that arm with big passes and big plays down the field.That 1-15 record, the one that sunk Mike Riley’s career as an NFL head coach, was a direct result of an injured QB and a misdiagnosis at the hands of a reckless team doctor. It was also the end of Leaf’s time in San Diego.What if things had gone differently?The most notable difference for the Chargers, had Leaf stayed healthy, is not that they potentially have their franchise QB. That’s a minor blip...(Also, here is where I point out that it’s really difficult to predict Leaf could’ve been playing in Pro Bowls when the guy could barely crack 50% completion percentage in a league that was amping up the importance of exactly that skill/stat.)Leaf’s injuries lead to the 1-15 season that changed the team’s course forever. It led to the firing of the front office and coaching staff, replacing them with John Butler (and A.J. Smith) from Buffalo and famed Chiefs/Browns coach Marty Schottenheimer.It also leads to the team trading away the #1 overall pick and getting back a package that helped them build a core of:LaDainian TomlinsonDrew BreesReche CaldwellTim DwightThat’s two Hall of Famers and two very good NFL players that probably never play a down for the Chargers if Leaf stays healthy and is at least a league-average QB through his early 20s, which is/was entirely possible.If you’re the type to look for silver linings Los Angeles Chargers Womens T-Shirt , as I am, don’t think of Ryan Leaf as the failed draft pick. Think of Ryan Leaf as exactly the type of player the Chargers needed to end up drafting two Hall of Fame players in the same draft class and be thankful that things turned out the way they did.What do you think would have happened? Did things turn out better or worse than they would have?Los Angeles Chargers Daily Links: Should Bolts Trade for Earl Thomas? Chargers’ Derwin James on roster: ‘Got a lot of dogs around me’ - Will Reeve“Got a lot of dogs around me. So, it’s gonna be fun this season . . . We got a chip on our shoulder. And I feel like from the d-line to the secondary to the offense to the special teams, I feel like we got a certain swag about us . . . We’re excited this year,” James said on NFL Network Tuesday.Cornerback Spotlight - top five in PFF signature statistics - Austin GayleHayward could do no wrong this past season, as he allowed very few completions into his coverage and recorded four interceptions – all while covering the opposition’s top receiving target on a weekly basis. In his most dominant stretch of games (Weeks 6-12), Hayward allowed a catch rate of just 29.2 percent (7-of-24) and a 1.6 passer rating when targeted.Examining the value of receiver and coverage positions in today's NFL - Eric Eager & George ChahrouriWe would argue that this means to throw more resources at the problem (i.e. the 2018 Philadelphia Eagles, who drafted two cornerbacks in the top three rounds and acquired two veterans before the season) and play the best players that emerge from the scrum. We are seeing this happening this offseason as well (e.g. the Chargers) Los Angeles Chargers Hats , and time will tell they can leverage this into fulfilling their lofty expectations as a team.The Chargers 1-2 punch at CB great defending long-developing passes - Jarad EvansCasey Hayward leads the group as PFF’s reigning top-graded cornerback, finishing with a 96.4 overall grade and 96.7 coverage grade. Trevor Williams bookends Hayward on the outside as the second-year player sneakily graded as PFF’s 10th-best cornerback last season with an 88.5 overall grade and 88.2 coverage grade. While he was largely aided by the fact that Hayward often shadows opposing team’s No. 1 receiver, Hayward and Williams were the only pair of teammates to each rank among PFF’s top 10 cornerbacks.Three trade (and extension) offers for Earl Thomas: Teams he could join - ESPN.comThe Chargers have about $9 million in salary-cap space in 2018, according to the ESPN Roster Management System, so they would have to get creative in order to bring Thomas into the fold. The Bolts could restructure the contracts of quarterback Philip Rivers (scheduled to make $15 million in 2018) or receiver Travis Benjamin (scheduled to make $5.75 million in 2018) to create some cap space.Social Media Information:BFTB Facebook Page: Click here to like our pageBFTB Twitter: Follow @BFTB_ChargersThe Lightning Round Twitter: Follow @Lightning_RoundThe Lightning Round Facebook: Click here to like our pageBFTB Manager: Richard Wade: Follow @RichardWade Custom Cleveland Browns Jerseys