4 most underrated moves by the LA Chargers this offseason

3. Signing Gerald Everett

Signing Gerald Everett certainly was not a *small* signing as it did get attention from Chargers fans as well as the mainstream NFL media but it also was not a big signing. And while most fans are happy to see Jared Cook off the team in 2022, I do not think most realize how impactful Everett is going to be to this team.

There has been so much talk about the Chargers adding speed to the offense and some disappointment when the Bolts ultimately did not do that. People are overlooking the fact that the Chargers got much faster at tight end with Everett, who runs circles around Jared Cook.

Everett is not a burner in the grand scheme of the NFL but for a tight end, he certainly is above average and has speed you have to respect. He and Travis Kelce ran nearly identical 40-yard dash times (one one-hundredth of a second difference).

We know how important the tight end position is to what the Chargers want to do on offense. We literally saw it last season. The jump from Cook with his declining athleticism and his drops to Everett with his speed and mostly sure hands is going to make a massive difference for the Chargers in 2022.

Everett's numbers in his career may not be that great but don't let that be misleading. He is still only 27 years old and really has not gotten any sort of super impactful role in the offense. He set a career-high with 63 targets last season. Cook was targeted 83 times and Everett could be targeted even more with his speed, allowing him to separate at times when Cook couldn't.

If Everett gets 85 targets with his catch rate from last season and Cook's average yards per reception then he will finish with 767 receiving yards next season.