Bolts From The Blue
Both Tyler Lockett and Calais Campbell would provide veteran mentorship in two young position groups for the Chargers.
The Chargers are hard at work trying to put the finishing touches on their team to set them up for the best draft possible next month. They have 10 picks in all which is plenty of ammo to make moves throughout that weekend and/or potentially make a trade for someone currently on another roster.
If the Chargers are still looking to add available free agents, there are currently two on the market I think would be low-cost additions that would do nothing but raise the floor without forcing the Chargers into a pre-designed path through the draft and the rest of the offseason.
Let’s check them out.
The Seahawks moved on from Lockett after 10 seasons (as well as D.K. Metcalf), paving the way for budding star Jaxon Smith-Njigba to lead their receiver room into the Mike Macdonald era.
In his final year with Seattle, Lockett recorded 49 receptions for 600 yards and a pair of touchdowns while operating as the team’s WR3 for the majority of the year. Even at 32 years old, Lockett is a smart and savvy football player who still knows how to be available for his quarterback.
The Chargers added Mike Williams to fill their need for an X receiver. They’ve not got a decent trio for 3WR sets. Beyond that? I’m not a fan of the depth behind any of them. One injury happens and all of a sudden Derius Davis and Jalen Reagor are playing more snaps than they probably should on offense.
At this stage of his career, Lockett likely wouldn’t cost a whole lot and I believe his final cap hit would be under the $6 million the Chargers seem to be aiming for. Signing Lockett to a one-year deal would also further allow the Chargers to let the draft board come to them as opposed to going after presumed needs, like a new young wideout to fuel that position for the long-term.
Lockett only needs to be a reliable role player in Greg Roman’s offense. Raise the floor of the offense, nothing more.
If most NFL begin to be considered “old” after the age of 30, then Campbell is dang-near a literal fossil.
But despite his advanced, ADVANCED age, Campbell is still a very productive player. This past season with the Dolphins, Campbell recored 12 tackles for loss and five sacks with five pass deflections at the line of scrimmage. That sack total would have ranked first among all Chargers defensive tackles and his tackles for loss would have ranked first on the entire team, regardless of position.
Campbell only played on a one-year, $2 million deal in 2024. If he’s willing to move across the country for another go-round — and there’s a lot worse places to spend a year than Los Angeles — than the Chargers should be more than welcoming to...
