David Njoku Signing Could Unexpectedly Sabotage Chargers' Best Breakout Candidate

The Los Angeles Chargers have made dramatic changes to their coaching staff and offensive roster this offseason. New offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel is quickly leaving his stamp on the offense and the Chargers are not hiding their plans at all.

Los Angeles' offense has been retooled to maximize space, movement and speed. One area of the offense that the Chargers appear to be preparing to lean into and weaponize is the tight end room and the middle of the field passing attack.

Mike McDaniel has a long history of utilizing various tight end skill sets to their full potential by creating mismatches against linebackers and defensive backs and relentlessly attacking the middle of the field with those mismatches. The great news for the Chargers and McDaniel is that Justin Herbert has loved the same style of attack, he was even firing lasers over the middle to tight ends during the Pro Bowl game several years back.

Herbie brought the rocket arm to the Pro Bowl. 😳🚀

📺: #ProBowl on ESPN
📱: https://t.co/Nmf6WcClQ3 pic.twitter.com/gXfLPtV4mm
— NFL (@NFL) February 6, 2022

The combination of Mike McDaniel and Justin Herbert was one of the many reasons fans have been so excited to see what second-year tight end Oronde Gadsden II will do in this new offense following a breakout performance during his rookie year. The Chargers also brought in blocking weapon tight end Charlie Kolar in free agency from the Baltimore Ravens. The pairing of Kolar and Gadsden made perfect sense for the Chargers and McDaniel to run multi- tight end sets frequently.

The Chargers also just recently signed veteran tight end David Njoku from the Cleveland Browns following the 2026 NFL draft. Njoku's versatility and athleticism is a perfect fit for the offense and the tight end room to provide a veteran playmaker's presence. But, despite the Chargers needing an additional tight end the question still arises, does Njoku's presence slow down the development of Gadsden and eat into his target share?

How the tight end trio will work together

Los Angeles Chargers tight end David Njoku at press conference during offseason workouts at The Bolt. — Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The short answer to the posed question of whether new addition David Njoku will take away some of the target share from Oronde Gadsden is a simple yes: he will take away some of the targets. However, Njoku's presence should not be viewed as a detriment to the growth of Gadsden.

Mike McDaniel has consistently and successfully utilized two tight end sets in his offense. Gadsden and Njoku both will be able to be used in variety of ways with Gadsden benefiting from being around another athletic tight end but one with vast NFL experience from which he can draw from.

Gadsden may see a drop in target share based on projections. Concerns regarding target share are more rooted in fantasy football than they are coming from a player development angle. Gadsden is still only a second-year player who did cool off as the season wrapped up in 2025 but will still be a fixture in the offense. Having a veteran like Njoku around him should be a great pairing for Gadsden's long-term development as a Chargers weapon.

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