Good Morning Stormcloud! Over the next few weeks we're going to be looking at evaluating how the Chargers have addressed each position since this time last season. Whilst we are not going to be reviewing the incumbent starters there is plenty of turnover to get through. This evaluation will therefore include:

• Returning players who signed a new deal with the team
• External free agents who signed before the May 1st compensation pick exemption deadline
• Players who were added in any of the seven rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft
• Undrafted free agents (UDFA) who signed deals with the team after the draft
• Unsigned players who are listed as camp invites in media reports

Note: If a player has an asterisk after their name (*) this means that they were added during the 2024 season and have been retained

We are continuing with the offense now looking at the other backfield role; The F-backs!

Outgoing players

• Ben Mason (unsigned)
• Luke Benson (unsigned)

The new look F-Back room

• Incumbent (1) : Scott Matlock
• Returning (1): Tucker Fisk*
• In (1): Stevo Klotz

Returning

Tucker Fisk is set to have another year in Greg Roman's offense after the Chargers placed an exclusive rights tender on him under the designation of tight end. His new contract is therefore set to be a 1 year deal for $1,030,000. This deal makes sense at such a low cost as it doesn't guarantee Fisk a roster spot. At its best he was an excellent lead blocker on run concepts that looked to use the big man to seal the edge however he was a very inconsistent player with some games where he seemed to miss every block he saw.

UDFA

Stevo Klotz is the teams' latest attempt to find an upgrade on the Bash Brothers (a reference for any fans of D2: The Mighty Ducks) a.k.a. Tucker Fisk and Scott Matlock. Klotz is a dynamic, violent blocker who converts speed to power to good effect but his lack of strength or agility means he has gone unnoticed throughout the draft cycle. His tape is incredibly fun and I hope to see him continue that style of play in powder blue. He certainly has the will and has shown some understanding of leverage but to overtake the two incumbent big men he'll need to make a significant jump during OTAs and training camp.

Reasons for change

Neither Ben Mason or Luke Benson saw the field in the regular season and I see the lack of significant investment since is a sign that the F-back role in Roman's offense as taking a bit more of a backseat. The Chargers added strength, power and consistency to the running back position this Spring so we could see more split back and offset back looks with Roman's ultra heavy personnel concepts transitioning more towards what he ran at Baltimore with in-line tight ends and running backs instead of the Bash Brothers.

Position Reset Evaluation

The Bolts added one option to the roster who ended the season and Stevo Klotz could just be another camp body however he has a bit more juice than either of the guys ahead of him even if his athleticism doesn't move the needle. He plays fast and hard which leaves me with a suspicion that he will be a practice squad player at the least. This positional changeover is therefore chalk compared to last year with a likely reduced role for this position going forwards.