By prioritizing David Njoku’s elite red-zone threat, Los Angeles signals a decisive shift toward a dynamic passing attack designed to finally shatter their cycle of postseason heartbreak.
The story of the week in Los Angeles is not about the Chargers' de facto cross-town rivals in the Los Angeles Rams. The top story this week is the Bolts' huge tight end signing of David Njoku.
The move to add Njoku sent shockwaves through the NFL. It sent a few clear messages, with the most notable being that the Chargers are not messing around this offseason. Los Angeles is a force with which to be reckoned.
Aside from the obvious implications that the team raised its floor, it signaled what the Chargers were looking to improve. Russell Baxter of Los Angeles Chargers on SI writes that the move "proves the Chargers are moving away from the Greg Roman Era. Baxter expanded on what the team adds in Njoku and what it says about the team's focus this offseason. Here's what Baxter had to say.
"On Monday, the Chargers added nine-year pro David Njoku to the roster. He joins a tight end room that obviously includes Gadsden, as well as newcomer Charlie Kolar—formerly with the Baltimore Ravens. Njoku would actually be the seventh tight end on the roster, which includes undrafted rookies Evan Svoboda (Wyoming) and Jerand Bradley (Texas Tech).
The focus here is on the trifecta of the Gadsden, Kolar, and Njoku. Let’s use 2025 as an example. Gadsden’s season saw him score three touchdowns in 16 total outings. Kolar found paydirt only twice in 17 contests. Finally, Njoku was limited to a dozen games and still reached the end zone four times.
'Njoku’s ability as a pass catcher was needed in the offense behind Gadsden,' offered NFL.com’s Kevin Patra, 'after Los Angeles attempted to use blocking TEs in that receiving role the past few seasons to little success. The tight end’s ability to win in space, particularly the red zone, should be a boon to Herbert and the rest of the offense.'"
TE David Njoku: Signed by Los Angeles Chargers (previous team: Cleveland Browns). Jeff Lange-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.The move does not guarantee that Los Angeles will look world's different than last season. And while new offensive coordinator brings a different playbook, there's no certainty that the results of 2026 will look any different in the postseason than they did last year. Los Angeles will have a battle simply making the postseason with its difficult schedule.
The Njoku addition does communicate how hard the Chargers are trying to escape postseason disappointments of the recent past, though. And that effort could make all the difference in 2026.