If an athlete explicitly tells you not to draft them, maybe it's best to listen! It’s night one of the 2004 NFL Draft, and as owners of the Number One pick, the San Diego Chargers messed around and found out. They wanted a quarterback, and by all accounts, the top-rated prospect of the draft was QB Eli Manning out of Ole Miss University. Buttttt, Eli didn't want to be a Charger. What followed was a set of bizarre events that shaped two franchises and may never be repeated ever again during a draft night. San Diego’s decision to draft Eli Manning was a Big Deal. Written and produced by Joe Ali Directed and edited by Jiazhen Zhang Subscribe: http://goo.gl/Nbabae Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/secretbase Follow us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/secretbase.bsky.social Follow us on Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@secretbasesbn? Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/9pMHRV Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/NvpZFF Explore SB Nation: http://www.sbnation.com