LA Chargers: 3 offensive free agents that could still help LA
By Jason Reed
2. MyCole Pruitt
The LA Chargers brought in Jared Cook to replace Hunter Henry, primarily in the passing game. While I do not think Cook is going to be that good as a receiving option in 2021, that is his primary purpose on this team.
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Without Henry and free agent Virgil Green, the Chargers have some really poor blocking options in the tight end room. Neither Cook or Donald Parham are good blockers and Stephen Anderson is okay, but he alone is not good enough depth.
Some fans think that the Chargers will select Tommy Tremble in the 2021 NFL Draft. And while Tremble would be a great selection, the Chargers have too many needs to take him with their first three picks, and by the time pick 97 rolls around, I doubt he is still available.
With Green coming off of an injury it makes sense to pivot and sign a younger, and just as cheap, blocking tight end that can produce the exact same impact on the offense that Green had. Modern-day football is more vertical than ever but you still need blocking tight ends.
MyCole Pruitt provides just that. Pruitt is not going to cost a premium and he was one of the best run-blocking tight ends in the league last season. Pruitt posted a 74.3 run-blocking grade on Pro Football Focus, the fifth-highest among tight ends, with 80.2% of his snaps coming in run-blocking.
He was an instrumental part of the success of the run game in Tennessee and would have a positive impact in LA. He had the highest run-blocking grade among any tight end that played at least 80% of their snaps as a run-blocker.