Star Trek: Every First Officer Ranked

Chakotay, despite seven seasons on Voyager, just never got the room or the stories to bring him into the higher rankings of first officers. The first season was an open field for him to explore the conflict of going from a Maquis leader to a Starfleet subordinate and, though this would be touched on in Voyager's run, it never really came to anything.

Robert Beltran has not been shy about voicing his opinion on the writing on the show and how it negatively impacted Chakotay as a character. While other characters got the chance to shine, Chakotay was one of the characters who faded into the background.

This led to an awkward situation where, even when he did receive an episode up front, it was with a character the audience didn't necessarily care about in the same way they cared about Janeway, Seven and the Doctor.

Chakotay was a victim of writing more than anything else, which is why he is as low as this on the list. A great 'could have been', but unfortunately a missed opportunity in the long run.