San Francisco traded running back Mark Schellen to San Diego…
San Francisco traded running back Mark Schellen to San Diego on May 20, 1985 for a 1986 12th-round draft choice. The Chargers' official trade history confirms the exchange. Schellen spent the 1985 season on injured reserve and did not appear on San Diego's regular-season roster; the Chargers then traded him to Houston in May 1986. The exact 49ers selection from the 12th-round pick remains unidentified.
Los Angeles Chargers Received
- player Mark Schellen
San Francisco 49ers Received
- pick 1986 twelfth round pick (selection not identified)
Trade Analysis
The May 20, 1985 transaction is directly documented in the Chargers' official trade history and in Pro Sports Transactions. San Diego acquired running back Mark Schellen from San Francisco for a 1986 12th-round draft choice. Schellen had been part of the 49ers' 1984 USFL supplemental draft class, but the trade moved his NFL rights to San Diego before the 1985 season. The Chargers did not receive regular-season production from him. Contemporary Los Angeles Times roster reporting shows Schellen being placed on injured reserve in August 1985 with a hamstring injury. Pro Football Reference and NFL roster records for the 1985 Chargers do not include him among the club's regular-season players, consistent with zero game appearances. The Chargers' own trade ledger then shows that on May 21, 1986 they traded Schellen to Houston for a 1987 12th-round choice, ending his San Diego tenure without a regular-season appearance. San Francisco's side is less complete because the acquired 1986 12th-round selection cannot be mapped to a specific overall pick or player with confidence. Pro Sports Transactions confirms that the asset existed but leaves the selection unidentified. TradeVerdicts therefore does not attach a downstream player to the 49ers' return. Even with that limitation, San Francisco converted Schellen's rights into draft capital while San Diego got no regular-season games before moving him again. The low value of a 12th-round pick prevents an aggressive grade, especially because its exact realization is unresolved, but the known team-specific outcome still favors San Francisco. TradeVerdicts changes the legacy Even Trade verdict to a modest San Francisco 49ers Win. San Francisco receives a C+ for recovering a future pick from a player who never played a Chargers regular-season game; San Diego receives a D because the acquisition spent draft capital without producing game value. Confidence is medium-high: the trade structure, injured-reserve status and later Houston trade are well documented, while the exact 1986 pick remains unresolved.