3. Gerald Everett
Gerald Everett is very similar value-wise to David Njoku in the free-agent market this offseason. Everett signed a one-year, $6 million deal with the Seattle Seahawks to get a bonafide TE1 job and he played pretty well as a result. He was not exceptional by any means, but he played well.
Njoku does have a higher ceiling than Everett and there is the reality of another team being interested in him and upping the price for the tight end. If that is the case, the Chargers could turn to an option like Everett that will cost similar, but will not reach the $7 million+ salary mark.
In fact, if I personally had to put a contract figure on Everett I would assume that he gets slightly less than he got in a one-year deal but spaced out in a multi-year deal. Something along the lines of a three-year, $15.5 million contract feels right for Everett's services.
While Everett is not the most exciting tight end on the market he would still be a quality addition to both Parham and McKitty and in Cook's role should be able to produce at a higher rate. The most compelling part of Everett's game is how sure his hands were in the 2021 season. Everett ranked 20th in the NFL in catch rate (76.2%) with at least 50 targets last season. That put him second behind just C.J. Uzomah among tight ends.
Of course, having an accurate quarterback like Russell Wilson helps but the Chargers are a team that dealt with drop issues all season. Everett recorded just three drops last season, which is half of Jared Cook's number of drops (they made the same number of receptions despite Everett being targeted 20 times fewer).
Everett did struggle with drops in his last season with the Rams but Jared Goff was his quarterback and it was a one-year issue. He had zero drops in 110 targets in 2017 and 2018.