One of the biggest needs for the LA Chargers entering the offseason was more pass catchers for Justin Herbert to throw the ball to. Prominent name after prominent name has come off the board and the only signing the Chargers have made to the passing game is, disappointingly, Jalen Reagor.
This continued into Wednesday as the Chargers lost an ideal tight end target to the Denver Broncos. After meeting with the Chargers on Tuesday, free-agent tight end Evan Engram ultimately signed with the Bolts' division rival.
The Chargers are now back to the drawing board as the team looks to supplement the tight end position. With the nature of the market, signing Engram would have been huge. Alas, he will be in Denver.
Chargers left scrambling after Broncos sign Evan Engram
Tight end is one of the biggest needs for the Chargers this offseason and there are not very many options to pursue left. The 2025 NFL Draft is stacked with tight ends, but with the Bolts not addressing any other needs in free agency, it is hard to pinpoint when they may be able to take a tight end.
Basically the Chargers are left hoping that Mark Andrews and/or Dallas Goedert get released by their respective teams and have an interest in signing with the Chargers. If not, the Bolts have to hope that Michigan's Colston Loveland falls to the No. 22 pick, which isn't the best spot to be in.
Pigeonholing yourself to one draft need in the first round, especially when you pick in the 20s, is not a great spot to be in. Loveland very well may be picked before 22 and the Chargers would be forced to scramble.
Sure, the Chargers can still draft a talented tight end with upside in the mid-rounds. After all, this is a deep draft class and there are exciting pass-catching options that should be available in the second and third round.
But taking a tight end in the middle rounds has inherent risk. it does not matter how much a team or the fanbase likes a prospect in the draft. There is a lot of variance with mid-round picks and sometimes they just don't work out.
He's a completely different type of tight end, but look at Tre' McKitty. Chargers fans were over the moon for him after the 2021 NFL Draft, hyping up his upside as tight end who could block and develop as a pass-catcher. McKitty didn't even last his entire rookie contract.
Signing Engram wouldn't have kept the Chargers from drafting Loveland in the first round. If anything, it would have given the Bolts a safety net in case Loveland was off the board and the Bolts wanted to go a different direction in the mid rounds.
But with Engram now on the Broncos, the Chargers will be forced to scramble to fix the tight end position. If they don't, it may be another rough year.