The Chargers have a number of historic players who are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
And there's a good chance the Bolts could have more on the way to Canton, Ohio soon.
With 2024 Hall of Fame inductions happening this weekend, ESPN's Bill Barnwell took on the task of predicting the next 10 Hall of Fame classes, starting with next year's class.
Since not everyone who will make the Hall of Fame in the next decade has retired yet, the exercise required Barnwell to predict when these veterans will retire and how the rest of their career will look like.
And according to Barnwell's list, the Bolts have a couple of players who could see themselves in Canton from now until 2034.
The first was an obvious one in Antonio Gates.
The eight-time Pro Bowler, five-time All-Pro and record holder for most touchdowns by a tight end with 116 finished his career with 955 receptions for 11,841 yards. The 16-year Chargers veteran was also a member of the NFL's All Decade Team (2000-09).
In his second year of eligibility, Barnwell believes Gates won't have to wait long for Canton as he has him making it in 2025.
Barnwell wrote:
I was a little surprised Gates didn't make it in with the 2024 class, frankly. The longtime Chargers standout made eight straight Pro Bowls at his peak and ranks third among tight ends in career receiving yards, trailing Tony Gonzalez and Jason Witten. Gates hung around for a long time, which can hurt a player's chances if they're not performing at a high level, but we're talking about one of the best players at his position in NFL history.
The next member of the Chargers Barnwell had making it is the quarterback who threw Gates 89 of his 116 touchdown grabs — Philip Rivers.
Rivers was an eight-time Pro Bowler during his time with the Bolts and finished his career near the top of the all-time leaderboards among quarterbacks.
His 63,440 passing yards and 421 passing touchdowns are good for sixth all-time in NFL history and his 5,277 completions are seventh.
In Barnwell's predictions, Rivers makes into the Hall of Fame as a member of the 2029 class in his fourth year of eligibility.
Barnwell wrote:
While I can see some voters opting for [Matt] Ryan's higher peak given that neither won a Super Bowl, Rivers was the more consistently productive quarterback.
The final member of the Bolts in Barnwell's exercise required a little bit more projection, as it was a current member of the team in Khalil Mack.
Mack, an eight-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro, has won a Defensive Player of the Year award during his career so far.
He also surpassed the 100-sack mark in 2023 after a career-high 17.0 sacks in a season.
Mack still has time to continue to stack up the stats and accolades, but Barnwell believes he will get in the Class of 2033.
Barnwell wrote:
With two 15-sack campaigns, five double-digit sack seasons and a Defensive Player of the Year award, Mack has done enough to get there. A solid finish to his career should wrap the story up nicely.
