Tag: Jared Cook

2021 expectations for Chargers’ newest free agent signings

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez lays out the roles that the free agents from this offseason will have in 2021.

In part of the roster reconstruction, Chargers general manager Tom Telesco didn’t shy away from adding a few earlier this offseason.

With that in mind, here is what fans can expect from each of Telesco’s acquisitions heading into the upcoming season:

C Corey Linsley

The acquisition of Linsley fills the void at center in a big way, as he is a former All-Pro player and perhaps the best center in football. Linsley will help both in the passing game, especially with stunts up the middle, and the running game, as well as aid quarterback Justin Herbert in his pre-snap assessments and protection adjustments. A proven veteran like Linsley is a massive upgrade to the offensive line.

G Matt Feiler

After acquiring Linsley, the Chargers picked up Feiler to serve as the starting left guard, despite having experience at both tackle and guard. His primary position from Day 1 will be along the interior, but if an injury occurred to Bryan Bulaga, Feiler is capable of playing right tackle. He will be a key piece in both the passing and running game. In 1,499 pass-blocking snaps, Feiler only blew 31. In 903 run-blocking snaps, he only blew eight, per Sports Info Solutions.

G Oday Aboushi

The Chargers failed to get consistency at the right guard position from Trai Turner last season. The team released Turner and went out and signed Aboushi in correspondence. Aboushi was a great value signing at one year, $1.6 million. He will have some competition in fifth-round Brenden Jaimes this summer, but given the fact that he is coming off his best season yet as a pro with the Lions, Aboushi should lock up the starting spot. Aboushi gives the team a physical blocker in both departments as well as a gritty presence in the room.

TE Jared Cook

With Hunter Henry signing with the Patriots, the Chargers needed to acquire a starting tight end. Cook was that guy. More experienced as a receiver than a blocker, Cook will provide a big frame in the middle of the field and down the seam for quarterback Justin Herbert. Cook is familiar with offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and the scheme he will try to run, so it will help in the learning curve.

CB Ryan Smith

While he has experience as a starter in the secondary, Smith’s money with the Chargers will be made on special teams, where he will aide in the coverage units. Last season, Smith appeared in all 16 regular-season games for the Buccaneers and played 78 percent of the special teams snaps (360). He also played at least 73 percent of the special teams snaps in each of the team’s four postseason games.

EDGE Kyler Fackrell

The Chargers entered the offseason with a need at the position knowing that the depth was thin, with the only other players they had were Joey Bosa, Uchenna Nwosu and Jesse Lemonier. With Bosa and Nwosu slated to start, Fackrell will come in as rotational pass-rusher, with the majority of his work coming on special teams, having played over 1,000 special teams snaps in his career.

DT Christian Covington

The Chargers did not address the position in the draft, despite it being a group that needed additional depth. To fulfill it, the team signed Covington. Covington possesses versatility up front as he has experience playing anywhere from nose tackle to outside of the tackles. Similar to Damion Square, Covington will likely back up Jerry Tillery and Justin Jones. He is a guy who is capable of disrupting the backfield due to his great lateral quickness and burst to jump off the snap as well as length and strength to take on double teams.

Better than average: Tight Ends

How did the TEs fare against the same defenses?

The best measurement of a tight end  is how they fared against a defense relative to all others that also faced that defense. That removes the element of schedule strength because the best game that the 49ers allowed may only be an average one from a lesser defense.

The Top-8 fantasy performances against each defense were arrayed and each  tight end was recorded for how often they were in the Top-8, the Top-4 and Top-1 versus a defense last season.

Adding up those numbers yields a BTA score since they are better than the average tight end that faced a defense. It also weighs the performances since a Top-1 also counts as a Top-4 and a Top-8.

Bottom line – this is about how well a player did against a defense relative to all the others in his position did when they faced them. The reality is that there are few difference-making tight ends but this measurement shows how well a tight end really performed against his schedule and not just compared to all other tight ends.

With so few players of any consequence, there are no big surprises here. Travis Kelce and Darren Waller naturally take the top spots and George Kittle struggled with injuries in 2020. Logan Thomas, Robert Tonyan, T.J. Hockenson, and Eric Ebron all improved last year. Each turned in at a Top-8 performance in over half of their games and all but Ebron return to the same team with a chance to further their impact to the offense.

Mark Andrews fell in the metric thanks to the decline in touchdown passes from Lamar Jackson. This remains a fantasy position with only a handful of notable players, but Thomas, Tonyan, and Hockenson are expected to only get better. Rob Gronkowski placed well in the metric though would pinball between big games and nearly nothing from week to week. The return to health of O.J. Howard could keep Gronkowski just as inconsistent again this year.

Here are just the No. 1 performances allowed by a defense (a total of 32). The difference between Kelce and all others is profound.

Where PFF ranks Chargers’ skill players ahead of 2021 season

The Los Angeles Chargers have a talented offense, but how does Pro Football Focus about the group?

Pro Football Focus has been releasing their annual rankings this past week, where they stack the top-32 players in the league at each position.

PFF finished up the skill players on Thursday, and the Chargers are represented at each position. What matters the most, however, is where each player stands among the rest of the league.

At quarterback, Justin Herbert checks in at a rather low ranking of No. 15 overall.

Herbert exploded onto the scene in 2020, setting the rookie touchdown record. He was the king of high-variance and high-leverage situations, producing a better passer rating when hurried than he did when kept clean. This is a concern because Herbert will have more opportunities to execute from a clean pocket rather than always under pressure, especially with what the Chargers did this offseason to help build up their offensive line.

Herbert set rookie records in multiple categories at the position, but to PFF, he is dinged because his high level of play was only done when being under duress as opposed to when he had time to throw the football.

The fact that Herbert was always hurried was not his choice, however. The offensive line was poor the entire season, and it doesn’t come around often that any signal-caller can have that type of production under those circumstances.

In my opinion, Herbert deserves to be somewhere between 8 and 10, which is right up there next to Ryan Tannehill and Matthew Stafford and clearly above Derek Carr, Baker Mayfield and Kirk Cousins.

At running back, Austin Ekeler checks in at No. 11.

The highest PFF receiving grade over the last two seasons belongs not to Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara, or any other big-name superstar but to Austin Ekeler, whose 93.6 grade is streets ahead of the competition. Ekeler also has the most receiving touchdowns and explosive plays in that time.

Even after missing six games to an injury last season, Ekeler still managed to amass 992 yards from scrimmage, five touchdowns, 5.4 receptions and 93.3 scrimmage yards per game in 2020.

In the upcoming season, Ekeler could be due for a monstrous season since he will be playing for offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, who comes from a system that involves backs on the ground and through the air heavily.

At wide receiver, Keenan Allen was snubbed, by no surprise, being listed as the 16th-best player at his position.

Allen’s role was tweaked a bit in 2020 compared to 2019. He ran far fewer routes at the intermediate-to-deep level and wasn’t targeted above expectation at those parts of the field. He did see more shallow route targets, though. His 7.3-yard average depth of target was three yards under his previous mark as a result — the lowest of his career. And that played a big part in him producing worse on a per-route basis. Still, Allen performed admirably in that role with an 85.0 receiving grade that tied for 11th among qualifying wide receivers.

Even with a new quarterback, Allen made the most of his opportunities, tallying 100 receptions for 992 yards and eight touchdowns.

Allen has been disrespected by analysts for years now, and is not given the credit he deserves. In my opinion, Allen should be among the top-10 wideouts.

Finally, at tight end, Jared Cook also checks in at No. 16.

There were much worse ways for the Chargers to go about replacing Henry than signing Cook to a one-year, $4.5 million contract this offseason. The 34-year-old has arguably played the best football of his career over the past three seasons with the Raiders and Saints. Cook can still provide a vertical threat at his age, too. His 14.2 yards per reception over the past three seasons are more than any other tight end in the NFL with at least 100 receptions over that span. It makes for an intriguing potential connection with Justin Herbert in Los Angeles.

Cook, the veteran tight end, comes to the Chargers after spending two seasons with the Saints in which he had 80 catches for 1,209 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Cook will offer some upside as a pass-catching option for Herbert and his  familiarity with Lombardi’s scheme should pay dividends.

ESPN’s Mike Clay projects Chargers’ 2021 offensive stats

ESPN’s Mike Clay takes a crack at projecting the production of the offensive side of the ball for the Los Angeles Chargers.

Mike Clay is an NFL and fantasy football analyst at ESPN and spends a lot of time going through algorithms and formulas to project player and team stats prior to the regular season.

Clay revealed his offensive projections for the upcoming season.

Let’s take a look at how he believes the Chargers skill players will fare in 2021 under new offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi.

Quarterback

Player C/A Yards TDs INT Carries Yards TDs
Justin Herbert 394/602 4,434 28 12 56 248 5
Chase Daniel 21/31 222 1 1 1 4 0

Running back

Player Carries Yards Average TDs Receptions Yards TDs
Austin Ekeler 200 911 4.5 5 75 613 3
Justin Jackson 86 385 4.4 2 19 139 1
Joshua Kelley 65 269 4.1 2 15 104 1

Wide receiver

Player Targets Receptions Yards Average TDs Carries Yards
Keenan Allen 154 105 1,097 10.4 7 2 13
Mike Williams 89 56 869 15.5 6 0 0
Josh Palmer 49 31 409 13.2 3 0 0
Jalen Guyton 37 21 316 15.0 2 2 11
Tyron Johnson 18 11 166 15.0 1 4 22

Tight end

Player Targets Receptions Yards Average TDs
Jared Cook 61 40 496 12.4 4
Donald Parham 43 29 320 11.0 3
Stephen Anderson 6 4 46 11.5 0
Tre’ McKitty 3 2 20 10 0

Ranking the Chargers offensive units ahead of 2021 NFL draft

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez ranks the offensive side of the ball, from the strongest to the weakest.

The 2021 NFL draft is just four days away.

To get a feel for what the Chargers might do on the offensive side of the ball, I ranked each position group, starting from the strongest working down to the weakest.

Better or Worse: Evaluating Chargers offense ahead of NFL draft

The Los Angeles Chargers offense will have a different look, primarily in the trenches.

The Chargers lost a few of their starters from last season, but added some in correspondence via free agency.

But how do they compare now to after the 2020 regular season?

Let’s break it down by position, starting with the offense.

Quarterback

Offseason moves: Signed Chase Daniel as an unrestricted free agent from the Lions. Lost Tyrod Taylor as a UFA from the Texans.

Summary: The Chargers are locked in with their quarterback of the future, Justin Herbert. After losing Taylor to Houston, they turned their attention to Daniel, who’s familiar with offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi’s system. Daniel isn’t as enticing as a player as Taylor, but he has been considered an ideal veteran mentor for young quarterbacks, which is what he will be, a preceptor to Herbert. Easton Stick, meanwhile, has gotten the short end of the stick, as he has limited experience after not having a preseason last year due to COVID-19. He will battle it out this year for a spot, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he is on the outside looking in, relegated to practice squad role or being released.

Verdict: Slightly better

Running Back

Offseason moves: Lost Kalen Ballage as an unrestricted free agent to the Steelers.

Summary: Ballage was serviceable when he was on the field last season, but despite the loss, the group remains in good shape. Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson are a solid one-two punch when they’re healthy and Joshua Kelley just needs to find his mojo. Ekeler will remain a do-it-all back. Jackson can be a threat in both the running and passing game as long as he can stay on the field. Kelley was a bright spot in training camp last year, but he dealt with fumbles and just couldn’t find a groove. I expect him to bounce back. The team might look to draft one late or bring in an undrafted free agent for competition.

Verdict: Same

Wide Receiver

Offseason moves: N/A

Summary: This group remains the same. The Chargers did the right thing by paying Keenan Allen last offseason after proving himself as a top-10 wideout yet again. Mike Williams is entering the final year of his contract. The team chose not to let him play on the fifth-year option because he’s thought highly of, both as a person and a player. Jalen Guyton and Tyron Johnson are ascending deep threats. Guyton is the No. 3 but after experiencing spurts of drops, Johnson could emerge in that role. After quiet seasons from Joe Reed and K.J. Hill, their contributions remain to be seen. Hill is the fifth wideout and Reed is hoping to establish himself as the kick returner and gadget piece offensively. Los Angeles could address the position in the draft, bringing in an explosive element.

Verdict: Same

Tight End

Offseason moves: Signed Jared Cook as an unrestricted free agent from Saints. Lost Hunter Henry as a UFA to the Patriots. Re-signed Stephen Anderson.

Summary: It wasn’t long before Henry was gone, being picked up by head coach Bill Belichick. In correspondence, the Chargers got Cook, who’s another guy familiar with Lombardi’s offense. Cook’s best playing days are behind him, but he stills offers a reliable option for the time being. While he’s more of a liability as a run blocker, he will offer some upside as a pass-catching option. Even before the signing of Cook, Parham likely wasn’t seen as someone capable of manning the full-time starting role. While he’s an intriguing receiving option and a mismatch in the red zone, his blocking still leaves a lot to be desired. That’s why the team re-signed Anderson, who’s the most superior blocker out of the bunch. Los Angeles could use one of their two third-round picks to take a guy like Notre Dame’s Tommy Tremble, Miami’s Brevin Jordan, Duke’s Noah Gray or Georgia’s Tre McKitty.

Verdict: Slightly worse

Offensive line

Offseason moves: Signed Corey Linsley from Packers, Matt Feiler from Steelers and Oday Aboushi from Lions. Lost Dan Feeney to Jets, Sam Tevi to Colts, Cole Toner to Texans.

Summary: The Chargers knew their offensive line ranked near the bottom in both the pass and run-blocking departments and a good amount of their success lies in the hands of Herbert, which is why they made the point to build it from the ground up. Linsley was the most expensive signing, but he was the most vital as he is one of the best centers in the league. They have two new starting guards in Feiler and Aboushi. Bryan Bulaga is back to man the right tackle position. All that’s left is filling the left tackle void. Trey Pipkins is penciled in as the starter. Pipkins, the team’s third-round pick of 2019, has shown flashes but he’s still quite a bit away from being relied on in that role. Los Angeles also has Storm Norton on the roster, but he I believe he is nothing more than a swing option. In my opinion, it’s going to come down to Christian Darrisaw, Rashawn Slater, Alijah Vera-Tucker and potentially Teven Jenkins with their first-round pick.

Verdict: Much better

Saints stay put, pass on falling Marcus Davenport in 2018 draft do-over

A do-over of the 2018 NFL draft from Pro Football Network had the New Orleans Saints passing on Marcus Davenport in favor of Mark Andrews.

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It is always fun going back and asking yourself “what if?” when looking at past NFL drafts. Pro Football Network’s Oliver Hodgkinson did just that. Notoriously one of the weakest draft classes in memory for the New Orleans Saints, PFN’s do-over of the 2018 NFL draft made much more sense.

According to PFN, the Saints should have drafted Oklahoma State tight end Mark Andrews, a savvy pass catcher, rather than trading up and selecting defensive end Marcus Davenport. Here is what Hodgkinson had to say about the re-draft:

“Although Marcus Davenport earned All-Rookie honors in 2018, I think it’s fair to say the Saints have yet to see a decent return on their investment. Let’s not forget, New Orleans traded up to 14 to select the former UTSA pass rusher. Considering that their biggest needs ahead of the draft were thought to be tight end and wide receiver, selecting a pass catcher at No. 27 seems much more sensible.

Originally a third-round pick for Baltimore, Oklahoma’s Mark Andrews broke Ravens records for single-season touchdowns, most receiving yards by a rookie tight end, and snagged a 74-yard catch to break the record for longest reception by a tight end.”

Because the Saints did not address tight end in this draft, they were stuck with 38-year old Ben Watson on top of the depth chart, and he finished the year with just 35 catches for 400 yards. With the selection of Andrews, it likely would have meant that Jared Cook would have never signed with New Orleans the following offseason, and the Saints could have avoided burning a late-round pick on Alize Mack, who they cut before he ever appeared in a game.

Instead, a young, reliable tight end that would have fit perfectly in with Sean Payton’s scheme is now breaking franchise records with the Baltimore Ravens. And he’s been doing it since he stepped on the field, when Andrews’ 558 receiving yards were the most-ever by a Ravens rookie tight end.

It’s easy to make these sort of criticisms in hindsight, but the Saints were widely negged for trading up to get Davenport. There’s quite a butterfly effect at play here in asking what may have happened if they’d been less aggressive on draft day: Davenport’s disappointing saga and Cook’s stint with the Saints may have never happened. Here’s hoping for a better approach to the 2021 draft.

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Chargers TE Donald Parham listed among free agency losers

Donald Parham was the Los Angeles Chargers’ TE1 for a brief moment.

With the big-name free agents all but gone for the most, some players will benefit from the new change of scenery or situation, while some won’t be in the most ideal situation, likely due to another player coming in.

For Chargers tight end Donald Parham, he was the No. 1 player on the depth chart for a brief moment after Hunter Henry chose to sign with the Patriots. However, that quickly changed after the signing of veteran Jared Cook.

The Athletic’s Eric Moody listed the winners and losers of free agency, and he believes this offseason was a loss for the former XFL star.

There was a lot of excitement surrounding Parham once Hunter Henry signed with the Patriots. The 6’8″, 23-year-old tight end caught three touchdowns last season in a very limited role for the Chargers. Parham runs a 4.6 40 and has a 36-inch vertical leap. The Chargers, unfortunately, pumped the breaks on the hype train when they signed free-agent tight end Jared Cook. Perhaps Los Angeles isn’t ready to make Parham a full-time player.

Signed last offseason, Parham took advantage of his limited opportunities, as well as the season-ending injury to Virgil Green, where he recorded 10 catches for 159 yards and three touchdowns on 20 targets in 2020.

Even before the signing of Cook, Parham likely wasn’t seen as someone capable of manning the full-time starting role. While he’s an intriguing receiving option and a mismatch in the red zone, his blocking still leaves a lot to be desired.

Cook isn’t known for his blocking prowess either, but he does have plenty of experience as a starter in the league. Stephen Anderson, who was re-signed last week, is the one tight end on the roster who brings the run and pass-blocking chops.

Nonetheless, Parham could see an uptick in production from last season due to the influence that offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi will have from the Sean Payton type of offense, but he isn’t likely going to put up starter-like numbers.

A look at Chargers’ cap space, remaining needs

Breaking down the Los Angeles Chargers’ roster moves, cap space and positions of need.

We are two weeks into NFL free agency, and the Chargers’ roster under head coach Brandon Staley is taking shape.

Here’s a look at Los Angeles’ roster moves:

Gained

OL Corey Linsley

OL Matt Feiler

OL Oday Aboushi

TE Jared Cook

OLB Kyler Fackrell

QB Chase Daniel

Retained

CB Michael Davis

CB Brandon Facyson

TE Stephen Anderson

Lost

TE Hunter Henry (Patriots)

LB Denzel Perryman (Panthers)

QB Tyrod Taylor (Texans)

OL Dan Feeney (Jets)

OT Sam Tevi (Colts)

DL Isaac Rochell (Colts)

LB Nick Vigil (Vikings)

OL Cole Toner (Texans)

L.A. roughly has $25.7 million in salary cap space, according to Over The Cap. This does not reflect the signing of QB Chase Daniel and re-signings of TE Stephen Anderson and CB Brandon Facyson.

What are the team’s remaining needs?

Left tackle

If the Chargers wish to get the most out of quarterback Justin Herbert, they need to protect him at all costs. At the moment, Trey Pipkins is penciled in as the starter. Pipkins, the team’s third-round pick of 2019, has shown flashes but he’s still quite a bit away from being relied on in that role. Los Angeles also has Storm Norton on the roster, but he I believe he is nothing more than a swing option.

Cornerback

One of the biggest priorities for L.A. was re-signing Michael Davis, which they took care of. But even after making the move, the team still has a void to fill after releasing Casey Hayward. The Bolts still have Chris Harris, Jr. as the other starter and even though they re-signed Brandon Facyson, I don’t think he’s ready to step in as a permanent starter. Given how vital the position is in Brandon Staley’s system, they need more talent.

Safety

After the loss of Rayshawn Jenkins, there are only three safeties on the roster: Derwin James, Nasir Adderley and Alohi Gilman. The Chargers might be banking on Staley maximizing Adderley’s skillset in 2021 after a rough sophomore season, but given the fact that Staley likes to roll with three-safety looks, the team will be looking to add another one or two.

Guard

Los Angeles found their two probable starters in Matt Feiler and Oday Aboushi. However, the depth behind them is practically nonexistent. For a team that has dealt with the injury bug up front, they could benefit from adding a couple to solidify the group for the upcoming season.

Interior defensive line

The Chargers have a solid foundation with Linval Joseph, Justin Jones and Jerry Tillery. While it’s not the most pressing need, Staley will look for guys that fit his mold, with that being explosive and versatile players with length. Cortez Broughton is a player that fits that shape, but look for them to upgrade.

What signing TE Jared Cook means for the Chargers

The Los Angeles Chargers upgraded the tight end position on Thursday.

The Chargers signed veteran tight end Jared Cook to a one-year deal on Thursday.

After losing Hunter Henry, who signed with the Patriots, Los Angeles was only left with Donald Parham on the roster.

L.A. had plenty of options to choose from, which included trading for Zach Ertz. But they ultimately chose to sign Cook to a short-term deal. Cook’s case was especially benefited from there being some connections to the coaching staff.

Cook played under offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi for two seasons with the Saints, when Lombardi was the quarterbacks coach. Run game coordinator/offensive line coach Frank Smith, meanwhile, was the tight ends coach for the Raiders when Cook made his first Pro Bowl.

Cook has played for five teams in his 12 years in the NFL, catching 505 passes for 6,673 yards and 41 touchdowns and making two Pro Bowls along the way.

Cook’s best playing days are behind him, but he stills offers a reliable option for the time being. While he’s more of a liability as a run blocker, he will offer some upside as a pass-catching option for quarterback Justin Herbert and someone who’s familiar with Lombardi’s scheme.

The 34-year old also offers a solid mentor in a positional room that’ll feature Parham and most likely a rookie. Kyle Pitts, the No. 1 tight end entering this year’s draft is in option, but I see them addressing the offensive line with their first-round pick.

The Chargers could select someone like Penn State’s Pat Freiermuth in the second-round, but the more reasonable route, in my opinion, is using one of their two third-round picks to take a guy like Notre Dame’s Tommy Tremble, Miami’s Brevin Jordan, Duke’s Noah Gray or Georgia’s Tre McKitty.

Overall, the move might not appeal to all, but Cook is serviceable for the time being and his presence should go a long way to the development of the youth at the position.