The LA Chargers have a fairly successful track record of signing impactful players for cheap under general manager Joe Hortiz. Hortiz doesn't bat 1.000, though, and one of his biggest misses on the 2025 team is tight end Tyler Conklin.
Los Angeles signed Conklin to replace Hayden Hurst and Stone Smartt as the pass-catching presence in the Chargers' tight end room. Will Dissly returned to the team as the blocking specialist and the Chargers drafted Oronde Gadsden II late in the 2025 NFL Draft to develop.
After just one month of the 2025 season, fans are petitioning hard for Gadsden to get more playing time as Conklin clearly looks washed. The 30-year-old tight end has been woeful thus far and looks to be heading down the same path to irrelevancy that Hurst ventured on last season.
The Chargers can't hold on too long with Tyler Conklin looking washed
Conklin was never meant to be a fundamental game-changer for the Chargers. He was meant to be a nice secondary option in the tight end room who could add some pass-catching juice behind a veteran blocking tight end in Dissly.
It's clear five games into the 2025 season that Conklin does not provide that. In fact, Conklin is actively hurting the Chargers in multiple ways. There have been nothing but lowlights for Conklin in his short tenure with the Bolts thus far.
It started in Week 1. Conklin's first-ever taste of the passing game included a fumble against the Kansas City Chiefs that almost ended a field goal drive. Ladd McConkey made the heads-up play of hitting the ball out of bounds to keep it away from KC, but it was nearly disastrous for the Bolts.
In Week 3 the Chargers tried running a dedicated screen pass to Conklin behind the line of scrimmage. The veteran tight end couldn't get his head around in time and it was a dead play. While the Chargers ended up rallying for the win, Conklin's mistake killed a drive with promise and could've swung the game.
Against the New York Giants, Conklin tried setting a pick for McConkey but picked his teammate instead of the defender. As a result, Justin Herbert's pass was intercepted and the Giants wound up scoring.
And finally, there was the consequential failed fourth-down conversion in Week 5 where Herbert fired a perfect ball straight off Conklin's helmet. Conklin turned around in time and was in position to make the catch; it simply went right through his hands and off his helmet as if he never saw it.
Meanwhile, Gadsden has flashed in the chances he has received in the Chargers' offense. The disparity between the young tight end and the veteran couldn't be any greater. Jim Harbaugh has to entrust the player who gives the Chargers the best chance of winning. That's clearly Gadsden.
Thankfully, the Chargers found this out in early October instead of late December. Now it's on the Bolts to make the proper adjustments.