Los Angeles Chargers: Building the Franchise’s Mount Rushmore
By Jason Reed
Antonio Gates
Antonio Gates is the best tight end of all time, or at least he will be by the time he hangs it up. Gates has been a member of the Los Angeles Chargers since 2003, and has left more than a mark on the franchise. Being on the receiving end of many Phillip Rivers’ touchdowns, Gates has built himself quite the resume.
Gates, as of today, ranks sixth all time in receiving touchdowns with 111. Even more impressive, Gates is tied with Tony Gonzalez for the most receiving touchdowns from a tight end. All Gates needs to do next season is catch one touchdown pass and he will become the greatest statistical tight end of all time.
Not only is he virtually guaranteed to surpass Tony Gonzalez atop the tight end ranks, he could possibly find himself cracking the top five in receiving touchdowns. Only being 17 shy of Marvin Harrison’s 128, if Gates puts together two more good seasons he can easily crack that mark. Sure, he is battling father time, but it is certainly doable.
Not only will Antonio Gates go down as one of the greatest Chargers to ever live, he will go down as one of the greatest football players. Gates has paved a way for multi sport athletes, dawning a wave of basketball turned football athletes.