San Diego acquired wide receiver Bobby Johnson from the New…
San Diego acquired wide receiver Bobby Johnson from the New York Giants in August 1987 for a 1988 tenth-round pick. Johnson joined the Chargers during training camp but was released before the regular season and never appeared in a regular-season game for San Diego. The player acquisition therefore produced no realized on-field value for the Chargers.
Los Angeles Chargers Received
- player Bobby Johnson
New York Giants Received
- pick 1988 tenth round pick (#265-Steve Wilkes)
Trade Analysis
The historical record resolves the transaction cleanly. Pro Sports Transactions maps the August 21, 1987 Bobby Johnson trade to San Diego's 1988 tenth-round pick, No. 265, which the Giants later used on Steve Wilkes. The Chargers' own 1993 media guide likewise identifies No. 265 as the choice sent to New York for Johnson. A Los Angeles Times report from the day of the trade confirms that San Diego acquired the former Giants receiver for an undisclosed 1988 draft choice, matching the later pick-level accounting. The duplicate undisclosed-consideration placeholders in the legacy row can therefore be removed.
San Diego's player return never reached the regular season. Johnson arrived with meaningful Giants credentials: he had caught 112 passes for 1,862 yards and 20 touchdowns across three New York seasons and was part of the Super Bowl XXI championship team. The Chargers wanted veteran receiving depth after Charlie Joiner's retirement, but the move did not work. A May 1988 Los Angeles Times item looking back on the transaction states that Johnson had been cut during the previous training camp. He consequently logged no regular-season statistics for San Diego.
New York's acquired pick also failed to produce regular-season value. The Giants used No. 265 on Appalachian State tight end Steve Wilkes in the 1988 draft. Pro Football Reference lists Wilkes with no NFL regular-season games, and an August 1988 Washington Post transactions report says the tenth-round pick left Giants camp. The pick was real and was exercised, but its direct on-field return was zero.
That leaves both sides with the same realized result despite taking different paths. San Diego spent a tenth-round choice on a veteran receiver who did not make the regular-season roster. New York converted that choice into a rookie tight end who likewise did not make the regular-season roster. Johnson's earlier Giants career and Wilkes' draft status explain why each club made its decision, but neither side extracted post-trade game value.
Even Trade is the appropriate hindsight verdict. Both teams receive C- grades because each gave up an asset and ultimately received zero regular-season games from the acquired return. Confidence is high because the trade terms, exact draft selection and both roster outcomes are documented by team history, contemporary reporting and draft records.