Chargers News: Bolts All-Time Receiving Leader Named Best Free Agent Signing in Team History

The Chargers should thank their lucky stars he didn't get drafted in the 2003 class

The Chargers organization has had some great players don the powder blue throughout their history. Guys like Philip Rivers, Kellen Winslow, Dan Fouts, LaDainian Tomlinson, and many others have done great things for the organization and the game of football.  

We're lucky to have witnessed players grow throughout the course of their career with players who the team has drafted, but sometimes you need some reinforcements via free agency. 

NFL columnist from CBS Sports Bryan DeArdo listed every team's greatest free agent signing and put legendary tight end Antonio Gates as the greatest team free agent signing of all time. 

An accomplished college basketball player, Gates helped lead Kent State to the Elite Eight in 2002. Gates' height (6-foot-4) compelled him to try his hand at pro football, where he was signed by the Chargers as a free agent in 2003. Gates churned out a Hall of Fame career with the Chargers, where he earned eight Pro Bowl selections and three All-Pro nods. A member of the NFL's All-2000s Team, Gates is first among tight ends in career touchdown receptions (116). He is second among tight ends in receptions (955) and yards (11,841). Gates helped the Chargers make seven playoff appearances.

(via CBS Sports)

What's funny about this signing is the Chargers signed Gates as an undrafted free agent. Even the Chargers passed on him in the 2003 NFL Draft, but lucky so did everyone else. 

Gates attended Kent State and was not only dominant on the gridiron but also on the basketball court. In his senior season, he averaged 20.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists and received an honorable mention All-American. 

He was more of a basketball standout, but because scouts named him a "tweener" to make the NBA, he was arranged a workout with NFL scouts. They didn't like what they saw, but the Chargers must've, signing him after the draft, and the rest is history. 

It didn't take long for Gates to establish himself in the NFL, earning First-team All-Pro in his second season and making eight pro bowls in a row after his rookie season. 

Gates is among the best players in Charger history and is undoubtedly LA's best free agent signee.