Los Angeles Chargers: LB Junior Seau, 1st Round (No. 5), 1990
Seau played his final seven NFL seasons for the Miami Dolphins (2003-2005) and New England Patriots (2006-2009), but his best years came with the Chargers and he is synonymous with the franchise.
Over his 13 seasons in San Diego Seau made the Pro Bowl 12 straight years (1991-2002), and he missed just eight games over that span. Over that same stretch, Seau had over 100 total tackles in a season seven times with at least 3.5 sacks eight times.
Seau won NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1992, NFL Man of the Year in 1994 and he was an eight-time First Team All-Pro. Even in the relative obscurity of playing in San Diego, and on a team that didn’t win a ton, Seau combined longevity and production in a way few linebackers have. He is one of many players who clearly belong any list of those that never won a Super Bowl.
Seau made news for the wrong reason in 2012, when he committed suicide via a gunshot to the chest at age-43. He had been suffering from some issues related to the after effects of playing football, in an era where concussions weren’t taken as seriously, and he was later found to have brain damage consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE as it’s better known as.
Seau was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015, with a ridiculous rule that prevented his daughter Sydney from giving a full speech honoring him at the induction ceremony. Seau is the first player of Polynesian and Samoan descent to get into Canton.