Chargers blockbuster trade pitch adds $32 million playmaker for Justin Herbert

We're a few months out from the start of the 2025 NFL season and the Los Angeles Chargers could still use another weapon in the passing game.

The Chargers lost Joshua Palmer in free agency and added Mike Williams and 2025 draft pick Tre Harris to a group that also includes Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston.

Unfortunately, nobody outside of McConkey can be considered a reliable option. Williams is over the hill, Harris is unproven, and Johnston's career has been very up and down.

At tight end, the Chargers have a solid one-two punch in Tyler Conklin and Will Dissly, but neither one is the kind of true difference-maker Los Angeles needs.

If the Chargers want to upgrade Justin Herbert's arsenal, they should put in a call to the Atlanta Falcons for tight end Kyle Pitts, who has drawn calls from teams about a possible trade.

According to FOX Sports' Jordan Schultz, teams have been calling the Falcons to check in on Pitts' availability. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler notes that, for the right price, Atlanta could part with him.

Following those reports, Sportsnaut's Ander Buller-Russ pegged the Chargers as a team that could trade for the former first-rounder.

"The Chargers can do better than Will Dissly and Tyler Conklin," Buller-Russ wrote. "Not only could Pitts step in as the new starting tight end, he might emerge as one of Justin Herbert’s top targets, giving him both another seam-stretcher and a great red-zone threat."

Pitts exploded in his first season in the NFL with 1,026 yards, but he has not been able to replicate that success since then. Pitts has tallied over 600 yards in each of the past two seasons.

Not all of that is his fault, though. Former head coach Arthur Smith did not do a good job utilizing Pitts after his rookie season, and the Florida product has had lackluster quarterback situations to overcome.

Pairing with Herbert would give Pitts the best quarterback situation he's ever had, and that could really unlock him.

Pitts is a unicorn at tight end who can create matchup nightmares. Not only can he line up in-line, but Pitts has the kind of athleticism to line up in the slot and out wide, also. And, as he showed in his rookie season, he can rip off big chunks of yardage on any play.

In terms of trade compensation, Pitts will likely cost a second- or third-round pick, at least, and there is some risk associated with trading for him, seeing as how he's in the final year of his deal.

However, at the age of 24, Pitts could be a long-term solution if he pans out and earns an extension, and a future with Pitts and McConkey leading things would be bright.

As the Chargers look to take that next step in 2025 after an upstart 2024 season, surrounding Herbert with as many playmakers as possible is key.

Trading for Pitts would be a fantastic way to go about that and would instantly improve the Chargers' chances of competing in a difficult AFC West and conference in 2025.

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