After almost a week of radio silence, the Los Angeles Chargers finally got it done. They added David Njoku on a one-year, $8 million deal, filling out their tight end room and adding another offensive playmaker to Mike McDaniel's arsenal.
Despite the offensive decline Njoku's seen the past two years, it's a perfect signing on paper. The Chargers already had a breakout pass-catcher in Oronde Gadsden II, but his deficits as a blocker made it necessary to surround him with capable blocking pieces. They also added Charlie Kolar this offseason, but he doesn't necessarily have the playmaking upside to be a pass-catching complement to Gadsden.
Njoku, therefore, is the ideal middle-man between their two existing tight ends. The fact that they were able to add him on a one-year, 'prove-it' deal instead of the multi-year deal he was rumored to be seeking only sweetens the pot.
But it also helps to crystallize the roles of Gadsden and especially Kolar in 2026. Many thought Los Angeles overpaid for someone of Kolar's skill-set when they brought him in on a three-year, $24.3 million deal this offseason. The worry was that the figure meant the Chargers would overcommit to whatever pass-catching potential Kolar had, jeopardizing the depth of their offense just like they did with the Will Dissly signing.
But Njoku's addition indicates exactly what Kolar's role will be, and the annual value on Kolar's contract shows just how important that skill-set is to Los Angeles.
Charlie Kolar is getting paid to be the perfect blocking tight end in Mike McDaniel's scheme
Now that the heirarchy of the tight end room is clear, it's fair to argue that the Chargers might have paid more than Kolar's market value dictated this offseason. But there's two important truths to be acknolwedged here.
Firstly, the Chargers had more than enough financial flexibility to bring in Kolar at that figure this offseason. Of course, there are still the extensions for Tuli Tuipulotu and Derwin James to reckon with. But even after the Njoku signing, they'll have around $48 million remaining for 2026 and around $96 million remaining for 2027.
Secondly, Kolar's role as a blocker should be invaluable to the Los Angeles offense over the next couple seasons. McDaniel's offensive scheme seeks to establish the run on the outside in order to open up room for short-yard, high-leverage passing plays. If Gadsden and Njoku were their sole blockers on the end of the offensive line, this task would become exponentially more difficult for the Chargers offense.
Kolar saw just 15 targets with the Baltimore Ravens in 2025. With Njoku now in the fold, his role should stay exactly the same in Los Angeles.
It might have been a bit of an overpay relative to market value, but a clear picture of his role with the team allows us to see how he could ultimately justify that number.
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