The Los Angeles Chargers had some work to do this offseason in revamping their wide receiver room and despite many moves to do just that, there is still talk that the team hasn't done enough.
While it would be great to see the team acquire a guy like Brandon Aiyuk or Tee Higgins (before he signed his franchise tag), the NFL does not work like the Madden video game. The team has done what it can to bring in a plethora of talented wide receivers for Justin Herbert this offseason and those moves could work out in a big way.
One of those moves that pretty much no one has talked about is the free-agent signing of D.J. Chark. While it seems like Chark has been around forever, he could just be getting started in his career.
D.J. Chark could prove to be tremendous signing for the Chargers
Chark is still just 27 years old and when you look at his frame (6-foot-3, 200 pounds), it's easy to see that he could be a huge weapon in the passing game.
For his career, he has caught 212 passes for 3,069 yards and 23 touchdowns. Those aren't huge numbers but they're not paltry either. He only caught 66 passes in his college career and was still a second-round pick in the draft, a sign that the talent has always been there.
He just needed the right place to unlock all of his potential. The Chargers, with Jim Harbaugh and wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal could be that place.
Chark has just one season in which he caught more than 53 passes, but closer examination gives an insight into those numbers.
2018-2021, Jacksonville Jaguars: Chark had Blake Bortles, Gardner Minshew and Nick Foles as his main quarterbacks with the Jaguars, the team that drafted him. He got just one season with Trevor Lawrence in 2021 and a fractured ankle limited him to just four games that year.
2022, Detroit Lions: Chark played with Jared Goff but just never found his way into the rotation regularly because of the way Dan Campbell likes to run his offense. He caught just 30 passes that season.
2023, Carolina Panthers: Chark played with the rookie Bryce Young, who took his lumps in year one. It was the worst team in football but Chark still caught 35 passes and found the end zone five times.
#Chargers new WR D.J. Chark speaks on his new QB Justin Herbert.
— Tanner Phifer (@TannerPhiferNFL) May 13, 2024
(Via: @Chargers) pic.twitter.com/mb3cIUtAcq
With all due respect to the quarterbacks mentioned above, catching passes from Justin Herbert in the type of offense that the Chargers will run is going to be the best opportunity of Chark's career to this point.
Sure, the Chargers could have found a bigger name to help the younger wide receivers like Quentin Johnston, Ladd McConkey, Brenden Rice and Cornelius Johnson, but Chark has every chance to make a surprise splash in his new home in 2024.
