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Hello 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 look at. 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
Today we’re looking at the last offensive skill position group; the Tight Ends.
Outgoing players
- Hayden Hurst (unsigned)
- Donald Parham Jr (Pittsburgh Steelers)
- Stone Smartt (New York Jets)
- Zach Heins (unsigned)
The new look TE room
- Incumbent (1): Will Dissly
- Returning (1): McCallan Castles*
- In (3): Tyler Conklin, Oronde Gadsden II, Jordan Pataia
Returning
McCallan Castles, the man with two surnames, did enough last season to earn a 1 year $840,000 contract despite never seeing a regular season snap. The Bolts picked him up after he was cut by the Philadelphia Eagles in September so the staff clearly think he has at least earned the right for some preseason action.
Free Agents
The free agent tight end class this spring was flat out terrible and to be honest I’m not sure we’ll ever see a good one again with how scarce elite talent is at that position. Despite his status as a middling steady guy he was still arguably the third best available option so for the Chargers to get a guy who is going to be available and consistent without stretching up to the prices of Evan Engram and Juwan Johnson, looks to be a shrewd move considering how far they were both overpaid. Over his last four years he has consistently been around 60 catches for 600 yards which is exactly what this offense required at a minimum. He has only dropped the ball once in the past two seasons with zero targets bouncing off of his hands on balls from Aaron Rodgers last year.
Draft
Tight End was my number one need heading into the draft having come out of free agency at a talent deficit. So there was absolutely no question whether more bodies and more talent were going to be sought after by the front office, it was just a matter of when not if they’d be drafting one. We should have seen the signs that Colston Loveland was going to be a pipe dream based on Jim Harbaugh’s despondent response when he was asked about his former Michigan player during his pre-draft press conference. That said I am absolutely made up with how the front office played the board to end up with my TE4 Oronde Gadsden II out of Syracuse. The former wide receiver has added mass at an impressive rate too so I am excited to see what more Ben Herbert can do with him over the off-season.
Not only did they get a fantastic prospect but they played it tough by waiting as long as they possibly could have to grab him. As soon as Mitchell Evans went off the board at the 27th pick of the 5th round they knew the game was up and they needed to jump up to get their man. This tells me they had great taste in their evaluation of the position as Evans was a guy I was late to but one I was very high on so the team were obviously relatively happy to get either guy. Gadsden for me was the better option though as he provides a ridiculous catch radius, smooth route running and dynamic blocking upside. Just because he wasn’t asked to block in-line doesn’t mean he can’t do it, he’s shown decent technique when given the chance. This was my favorite pick of the Chargers’ draft haul and I’m looking forward to breaking his tape down in more detail.
UDFA
As a non-american NFL fan I am naturally an advocate for growing the game internationally therefore I keep an eye on every player who gets added through the IPP. This year Jordan Petaia has been assigned to the Chargers all the way from Australia where he was an outside center for the Queensland Reds and the national rugby union team. The skills of the position translate well to being a YAC threat with blocking upside however we’ve seen a lot of these recruits come up short of earning a full roster spot so whilst I’ll hold hope, it’s a steep uphill journey to make in such a short time frame.
Reasons for change
Usually we are merely guessing at what line of thinking the front office is working on but this time we have some real information about how the Chargers see the tight end role going forwards. We were made aware of their failed pursuit of Evan Engram as well as a rumored trade for David Njoku then since the draft Brett Kolmann has suggested that the team were very high on Thomas Fidone II. Therefore when we combine all these nuggets we can see how the team wanted two things: elite athleticism and reliable hands. Engram, Njoku and Fidone II are above 93rd percentile athletes with Conklin, Gadsen II and Evans having drop rates of less than 6.5%.
This is a move to give Justin Herbert something he only saw in flashes last season in the highlight moments provided by Stone Smartt. Dissly already provides steady production but it’s too linear and teams can easily plan for one less dynamic threat even if he’s a smart player like Will. During the draft call with Oronde as the Chargers were on the clock, Harbaugh said “we have a use for you IMMEDIATELY” with the kind of enthusiasm that only increases my belief that he’ll be a significant contributor by the time the team hops onto the plane to Brazil.
Position Reset Evaluation
In my mind there is no doubt that the Chargers have made improvements at this spot. Hayden Hurst and Donald Parham Jr made little to no contributions last season between injuries and poor play so it wasn’t going to be hard to upgrade on the poor quality we saw from the in-line tight ends not named Will Dissly. I was an advocate to get Stone Smartt, the Bolts’ big slot, more time on the field as he flashed skills that the other tight ends did not bring but it came too late which tells us that the team did not trust him enough to warrant a future role. Adding both Conklin and Oronde allows Greg Roman to use more multiple tight end sets without being as one dimensional as he was last season. Hopefully this means the end of seeing 300 lbs men run wheel routes on critical downs in playoff games.
I too was an advocate for Smartt to get more reps/touches. I thought he flashed potential in the few chances he got, though that view wasn’t shared by many here. Parham will always be a disappointment.
I’m excited about Gadsden. Disappointed that neither Loveland nor Warren was available (not surprised) but I believe there’s a lot of potential here. He and Kenard are my “value” picks of the draft.
Thanks for doing these, Ryan. I appreciate any content that can stir discussion as we enter the doldrums between draft and training camp.
Thanks for putting these together Ryan. Trying to get through one daily (with my morning coffee).
While I would have preferred Njoku or Engram, I think the Chargers will get similar production from Conklin and Gadson. I think the difference with this leadership team is that they do not panic. After losing out on Engram and not trading for Njoku, the Telesco regime would have paid whatever it took to move up for Loveland or Warren. The Chargers addressed the position beautifully. Wish they were equally successful at Center.
Wasn’t Parham on the Broncos PS last year? Don’t remember him being on the team last year (and my rapidly aging brain seems to remember him signing elsewhere last pre-season). No question that Hurst was a bust and Smartt, while flashing, was inconsistent as he continues to learn the position.
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