Anthony Miller arrived in San Diego as the Chargers’ first-round pick out of Tennessee in 1988, a dual-sport track-and-field guy whose speed had already shown up on the college circuit. He started as a rookie opposite fellow first-year receiver Quinn Early, catching 36 passes for 526 yards, then exploded the next season. In 1989, he led the team with 75 receptions for a career-high 1,252 yards and 10 touchdowns, earning his first Pro Bowl nod and finishing second in the NFL’s “Fastest Man” competition. At 5-foot-11 and about 190 pounds, he was a serious threat who could stretch the field, track the ball down the sideline, and turn short catches into bigger gains once he got into the open.

He stayed productive through the early 1990s. After another Pro Bowl season in 1990 (63 catches, 933 yards, seven scores), he dealt with a knee issue that slowed his start in 1992, then still finished with 72 receptions for 1,060 yards and seven touchdowns while leading the AFC in receiving yards and making the Pro Bowl again. In 1993, his final year with the Chargers, he caught 84 passes for 1,162 yards and seven touchdowns and earned another Pro Bowl selection. He led the club in receiving in four of his six seasons and finished as the team’s leading receiver scorer during that stretch with 37 touchdowns. He was the kind of receiver who forced defenses to respect the deep ball, then used his quickness to create separation underneath.

After the 1993 season, Miller signed with the Denver Broncos. In his six years in San Diego, he had piled up 374 receptions for 5,582 yards and 37 touchdowns, production that still ranks among the best for a Chargers receiver.

In 2026, the franchise inducted him into its Hall of Fame, recognizing the speedy first-round pick who had given the offense a legitimate deep threat for half a dozen seasons in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

When a guy carries the nickname “Speedy,” you can safely assume he wasn’t often getting caught from behind. Leslie Herbert “Speedy” Duncan went undrafted out of Jackson State in 1964 by both the NFL and the AFL, then signed with the San Diego Chargers and quickly showed why the name fit. He saw limited action as a rookie, but by 1965 he had become a starting cornerback and a dangerous return man on both punts and kicks. At 5-foot-10 and about 180 pounds, he had the speed to cover receivers and the quickness and vision to make defenders miss in the open field once he got the ball.

From 1965 through 1967, he was an AFL All-Star every year. In 1965 he led the league in both punt-return yards and yards per return (15.5 average on 30 returns, including two touchdowns), and he repeated as the yards-per-return leader the following season. In 1966, he also had his best year as a defender, picking off seven passes—including three in one game against the Raiders—and in 1967 he took one interception back 100 yards for a score, the longest in AFL history at the time. He returned four punts for touchdowns during his Chargers years and was so effective that opposing punters started aiming for height and field position instead of pure distance just to keep the ball out of his hands. He was the rare dual-threat who could shut down a receiver one play and flip the field the next.

Duncan stayed with the Chargers through the 1970 season before signing with the Washington Redskins. Across his seven years in San Diego, he finished with 21 interceptions and more than 5,300 combined return yards, production that made him one of the most explosive playmakers the early Chargers ever had.

In 1995, the franchise inducted him into its Hall of Fame, and he was later named to both the Chargers’ 40th and 50th Anniversary Teams, recognizing the speedy cornerback and return specialist who turned special teams into a weapon during the AFL years.

Woodrow Lowe arrived in 1976 as a fifth-round pick out of Alabama after a three-time All-American career under Bear Bryant, and he immediately won the starting right linebacker job as a rookie. He kept that spot for nearly his entire 11-year run in San Diego, starting 151 of his 164 games and missing only one contest. At about 6-foot and 227 pounds, he was a solid run defender who could also drop into coverage, and that ability showed up in 21 interceptions—an unusually high number for a linebacker—four of which he returned for touchdowns.

His best seasons lined up with the Air Coryell years. In 1979, he picked off a career-high five passes and returned two for scores. The next year he became a team captain, a role he held for seven seasons, and he earned Second-Team All-AFC honors while the Chargers reached the AFC Championship Game. He was still productive later on, picking off three passes in both 1984 and 1985 and adding 15 career sacks. He was the kind of linebacker who could hold the edge against the run, then jump routes or sit in a zone and create turnovers when the offense attacked his area. One of the more memorable (and unfortunate) moments of his career came in the 1978 “Holy Roller” game against the Raiders, when he was the defender closing in on Ken Stabler as the controversial fumble-forward play unfolded.

Lowe retired after the 1986 season. Throughout his career with the Chargers, he was one of the steadiest, longest-tenured defenders of that era, finishing with 21 interceptions and a reputation as a durable, reliable starter who rarely missed time.

After his playing days, he was named to both the Chargers’ 40th and 50th Anniversary Teams, and in 2009 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, recognition for the three-time All-American who had spent more than a decade anchoring the Chargers’ linebacking corps.

When the San Diego Chargers selected Keenan Allen in the third round (76th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft out of Cal, few predicted how quickly the smooth route-running specialist would seize control of the team's aerial attack. Stepping into a prime role as a rookie, Allen erupted for 71 receptions, 1,046 yards, and eight touchdowns, earning PFWA All-Rookie Team honors and instantly becoming Philip Rivers’ most trusted target.

Despite that electric start, Allen soon ran into a brutal string of bad luck. After a quieter sophomore year, he was on pace for a career season in 2015, logging 67 catches through eight games before a severe kidney injury cut his campaign short. Misfortune struck again in the 2016 opener when he suffered a season-ending torn ACL, raising questions about his long-term durability.

Allen answered those doubts with a triumphant performance in 2017—the franchise's inaugural year in Los Angeles. He played all 16 games, catching 102 passes for 1,393 yards and six touchdowns to sweep AP and PFWA Comeback Player of the Year honors and earn his first Pro Bowl selection. That launched a dominant five-year Pro Bowl streak through 2021. In 2023, he set a single-season Chargers record with 108 receptions for 1,243 yards, earning his sixth Pro Bowl nod.

Contract negotiations led to a trade to the Chicago Bears for the 2024 season, where Allen posted 70 catches for 744 yards and seven touchdowns. But the separation from Southern California didn't last long. In August 2025, Allen returned home to the Chargers on a one-year deal. His reunion season proved historical: in Week 5 against Washington he became the fastest player in NFL history to reach 1,000 career receptions (159 games), and in Week 10 against Pittsburgh he officially passed Antonio Gates as the Chargers' all-time career receptions leader. He finished his 2025 homecoming season with 81 catches for 777 yards and four touchdowns.  He joined the Indianapolis Colts for the 2026 season.

With the Bolts, Allen caught 985 passes for 11,307 yards and 63 touchdowns.