Tag: Chargers UDFA

Tracking the Chargers’ 2024 undrafted free agent signings

Keep up with who the Los Angeles Chargers sign from the undrafted free agency pool.

The 2024 NFL draft has wrapped up, and teams will now begin filling their 90-man offseason rosters. After selecting nine players in the draft, the Chargers will now turn their attention to signing undrafted free agents.

While there’s no guarantee that any of this year’s UDFAs will turn into big contributors, Los Angeles has had an excellent track record of finding hidden gems throughout the years.

We’re going to be tracking all of the team’s college free-agent signings here. So please refresh this page because the list of players will be updated every time we learn of a new signing.

Here is a list of the UDFA’s Los Angeles has signed thus far:

 

 

 

 

2023 NFL draft: Analyzing the Chargers’ UDFA class

The Chargers are hoping to land a hidden gem or two in 2023.

The rookie class doesn’t end with the final selection. In fact, the announcement of Mr. Irrelevant only kicks off a more frenzied event: the undrafted free agent (UDFA) scramble.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the Chargers’ rookie free-agent signings.

Chargers sign 18 undrafted free agents after 2023 NFL draft

After drafting seven players, the Los Angeles Chargers signed 18 who went undrafted.

The Chargers wasted little time in filling out their roster after their haul in the 2023 NFL draft, signing 18 undrafted free agents.

Below are the members that Los Angeles signed Saturday night.

EDGE Brevin Allen, Campbell

S Tyler Baker-Williams, North Carolina State

OL Johari Branch, Maryland

CB Cameron Brown, Ohio State

WR Terrell Bynum, USC

DL Jerrod Clark, Coastal Carolina

RB Elijah Dotson, Northern Colorado

LB Nathan East, Samford

TE Michael Ezeike, UCLA

EDGE Andrew Farmer, Lane College

S AJ Finley, Mississippi

RB Tyler Hoosman, North Dakota

LB Mikel Jones, Syracuse

DL Terrance Lang, Colorado

OT Nicolas Meslop, Delta State

CB Tiawan Mullen, Indiana

CB AJ Uzodinma, Ball State

WR Pokey Wilson, Florida State

Tracking the Chargers’ 2023 undrafted free agent signings

Keep up with who the Los Angeles Chargers sign from the undrafted free agency pool.

The 2023 NFL draft has wrapped up, and teams will now begin filling their 90-man offseason rosters. After selecting seven players in the draft, the Chargers will now turn their attention to signing undrafted free agents.

While there’s no guarantee that any of this year’s UDFAs will turn into big contributors, Los Angeles has had an excellent track record of finding hidden gems throughout the years.

We’re going to be tracking all of the team’s college free-agent signings here. So please refresh this page because the list of players will be updated every time we learn of a new signing.

Here is a list of the UDFA’s Los Angeles has signed thus far:

Where Chargers’ 2021 undrafted free agent class ranks among rest of NFL

The Los Angeles Chargers inked 10 undrafted rookies. How do they fare among the rest of the league?

The NFL draft is behind us, and all of the talks have been primarily surrounding around the nine selections made by general manager Tom Telesco. But left out have been the undrafted free agents that he signed.

The Chargers inked 10 undrafted free agents to a contract after the draft. How does the haul stack up to the rest of the league?

NBC Sports’ Thor Nystrom ranked Los Angeles’ UDFA class and reviewed some of the signees, followed by showing how all 32 organization’s signings stacked up against one another.

L.A. ranked No. 9 in the AFC and 19 out of all the teams in the league.

Here is what Nystrom said:

In 2020, five of the top-nine teams in Rick Gosselin’s NFL special teams rankings made the playoffs. The Chargers finished dead last. The Chargers used UDFA to continue fixing the league’s worst special teams unit, work that’s been going on all offseason. The most overt of those signings were K Alex Kessman and LS Ryan Langan.

The Chargers would love for Kessman to put them to a decision on Michael Badgley, who converted just 24-of-33 field goal attempts last season. Badgley can no longer be trusted deep, which means his time as an NFL kicker is running out — all nine of his misses were from beyond 40 yards.

When firing a coach or breaking up with a girl, you always go for the opposite the next time around, and so it was with the Chargers’ signing of Kessman, whose 12-of-18 hit-rate (66.6%) on 50-plus yard field goals set an NCAA record. Kessman will tango with not only Badgley, but offseason signee Tristan Vizciano. With a new staff, it’s best-man-wins.

LAC’s other signings were made primarily with special teams in mind as well. Oklahoma State LB Amen Ogbongbemiga, the team’s most talented UDFA prospect, took over 500 special teams snaps in college (and made almost 200 tackles overall the past two seasons between his defensive and special teams work). He’s going to make the Chargers for the bump he’ll give the coverage unit alone.

Whereas I think Ogbongbemiga is a special-teamer early who could develop into a starter later, S Ben DeLuca and WR Eli Stove are both strictly special-teams propositions. But if you’re hellbent on improving those units, you mine as well bring in hungry kids willing and able to gun, cover and return.

Lastly, the Chargers weren’t able to address a need for iDL depth in the draft. So they took a couple fliers on Forrest Merrill and Jared Goldwire. Merrill is a squatty ‘80s throwback you ain’t movin’, Goldwire is his counterpoint, a long-limbed, stretched-out 6-foot-5, 293-pounder that tries to keep his distance with length.

I recently put out an article that lists the four undrafted free agents that I believe will make the 53-man roster.

Note: Eli Stove was waived by the Chargers.

Los Angeles has had a good amount of success finding diamond in the rough players, so if some of the players that I mention don’t make it, there is still bound to be a couple that do after their showings in training camp and preseason action.

4 undrafted free agents who could make Chargers 2021 roster

The Los Angeles Chargers have had a great amount of success on bringing in hidden gems that went undrafted.

The Chargers added nine new members throughout the course of the weekend in the 2021 NFL draft. Following the event itself, they notched an additional 10 undrafted free agents who will all be fighting for a spot.

Los Angeles has had a great amount of success on bringing in hidden gems that went undrafted, including safety Adrian Phillips, tight end Antonio Gates and running back Austin Ekeler.

With that, here are four that could see their names on the 53-man roster when the 2021 season rolls around.

 

Tracking the Chargers’ 2021 undrafted free agent signings

Find out which undrafted free agents the Los Angeles Chargers are bringing in.

The 2021 NFL draft has wrapped up and teams will now begin filling their 90-man offseason rosters. After selecting nine players in the draft, the Chargers will now turn their attention to signing undrafted free agents.

While there’s no guarantee that any of this year’s UDFAs will turn into big contributors, Los Angeles has had a great track record of finding hidden gems throughout years.

We’re going to be tracking all of the team’s college free agent signings here. Refresh this page because the list of players will be updated every time we learn of a new signing.

Here is a list of the UDFA’s they have signed thus far:

Chargers’ undrafted free agent who could turn heads at training camp

The Los Angeles Chargers could add more depth along the defensive line.

The Chargers have had a great amount of success when it comes to bringing in hidden gems that went undrafted in the past, including safety Adrian Phillips, tight end Antonio Gates and running back Austin Ekeler, among others.

Who could be the undrafted rookie that steals the show this year? Recently, Bleacher Report’s Chris Roling revealed his top UDFAs that will turn heads in training camp. According to Roling, former Northwestern defensive end Joe Gaziano is going to be the one who will impress.

Roling wrote:

Sometimes an undrafted player’s productivity is just too hard to ignore, and that’s the case with new Los Angeles Chargers defensive lineman Joe Gaziano.

He spent his college days at Northwestern in the Big Ten and put up 152 total tackles over four seasons, 49 of them for a loss, and posted a superb 30 sacks over the same span.

Which isn’t to say Gaziano will get himself in the lineup next to Joey Bosa in the near future. But he’s got the sort of versatility and motor that will help his efforts stand out, enabling him to stick around in a reserve role for what could be a long time.

In a league where pressuring the quarterback is crucial, you can’t have too many pass-rushers. The Chargers have a dynamic duo with Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram, but the team can afford to have some ammo behind them.

At 6-foot-4 and 281 pounds, Gaziano is the type of player that Los Angeles would covet – a productive and hard-nosed player who constantly makes his presence known at rushing the passer and defending the run.

Gaziano also has some alignment versatility, possessing the profile to work inside, too. In 52 games at Northwestern, he recorded 153 tackles, including 48.5 tackles for loss, 30 sacks (school leader), 15 passes defensed and eight forced fumbles.

Chargers’ ‘most exciting’ undrafted free agent

Could there be an offensive line who makes some noise in training camp and preseason?

The Chargers inked 19 undrafted free agents to a deal following the draft. Based on the consensus, their UDFA class doesn’t stack up that well to the other teams in the NFL. But that doesn’t mean that there won’t be any players that make the 53-man roster.

I took a crack at predicting four UDFAs that could make the roster. However, there could be a player that included in my list who might make the team when all is said and done.

Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox listed the “most exciting” undrafted free agents for each team. For the Chargers, he slots former Florida State offensive tackle Ryan Roberts.

Here is what Knox had to say:

Whether the Los Angeles Chargers roll with journeyman Tyrod Taylor or rookie Justin Herbert at quarterback, they’ll need to sort out their offensive line.

Trading away Russell Okung to acquire Trai Turner left L.A. with a void at left tackle. Free-agent addition Bryan Bulaga may kick over to the left side to fill it—he played both tackle positions in college—but that would then leave things uncertain on the right side.

Right tackle Sam Tevi was responsible for four penalties and eight sacks in 2019, according to Pro Football Focus.

Former Florida State tackle Ryan Roberts should be able to add much-needed camp competition to the tackle position. A transfer from Northern Illinois, Roberts immediately entrenched himself as a starter for the Seminoles in 2019.

While Roberts may not beat out the likes of Tevi and Trey Pipkins III immediately, he adds an exciting long-term project to the mix.

Roberts spent one season at Florida State after transferring from Northern Illinois. He ended up starting 12 games at right tackle and then one game at left tackle in 2019.

Roberts helped clear the way for Cam Akers to become the third running back in program history with multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons. For his efforts, he was named Academic All-ACC.

The Chargers didn’t draft an offensive tackle, so they could afford to have Roberts on the roster for depth. Roberts would be in the perfect situation if he was to make the roster, as he would be playing for James Campen, one of the best offensive line coaches, to aide in his development.

Where Chargers undrafted free agent class ranks among rest of NFL

The consensus wasn’t too high on the undrafted free agents that the Los Angeles Chargers signed.

The NFL draft is behind us, and all of the talks have been primarily surrounding around the six selections made by general manager Tom Telesco. But left out have been the undrafted free agents that he signed.

The Chargers inked 19 undrafted free agents to a contract after the draft. How does the haul stack up to the rest of the league?

The Athletic’s Arif Hasan put together a consensus draft board before the event, and was able to string together the top undrafted free agent classes by team as well as the top undrafted free agents.

Los Angeles ranked No. 23 out of the 32 teams in the league. They didn’t sign a player that was part of the top-25 players remaining on the board after the draft.

Yahoo Sport’s Thor Nystrom put out his rankings, as well. For his grading scale, he has the Bolts ranked No. 27.

The Chargers were light on defensive line depth coming out of the draft, so it’s not a surprise they targeted that in the UDFA free-for-all. I’d bet that at least one of Joe Gaziano or Brandon Fehoko make the team. Asmar Bilal and Jesse Lemonier are two other guys to keep an eye on in camp.

I recently put out an article that lists the four undrafted free agents that I believe will make the 53-man roster.

The Chargers have had a good amount of success finding diamond in the rough players, so if some of the players that I mention don’t make it, there is still bound to be a couple that do after their showings in training camp and preseason action.