Why fantasy owners should keep an eye on Chargers tight end Gerald Everett

Fantasy football owners should look at a Chargers tight end who is poised for a breakout season. 

Gerald Everett signed with Los Angeles on a two-year, $12 million contract in March. The 28-year-old is entering his sixth season in the NFL. He spent the first four with the Los Angeles Rams and last season with the Seattle Seahawks. 

Everett hasn’t had the most impressive career to date, but he set career highs in receptions (48) and receiving yards (478) last season. He finished 20th in tight end fantasy football rankings for points per reception last year, according to Fantasy Pros. 

Twentieth is the highest ranking of Everett’s career, and his catch rate was a major factor in it. His catch percentage in 2021 (76.2 percent) was fifth highest among tight ends with at least 32 catches, according to StatMuse. 

Everett performed well despite Russell Wilson’s tough 2021 season. Wilson threw for 3,113 yards last year, a career low, and 25 touchdowns. Everett caught four of them. 

While Wilson had his worst season, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (5,014 yards passing, 38 TDs) had one of the greatest in team history. He already has weapons in wide receivers Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Joshua Palmer, which should open the field for Everett.

The Chargers offense recently has had excellent tight ends, too. Antonio Gates spent his entire Hall of Fame career with the Bolts, and Hunter Henry put up strong seasons with the team before leaving for New England last season. 

In 2021, then-34-year-old TE Jared Cook caught 48 balls on 83 targets for 564 yards, and his catch percentage ended up far worse than Everett’s (57.8 percent). Cook finished last season ranked as the 19th-best tight end in fantasy football.  

Cook also shared time last season with Donald Parham Jr., who played 398 snaps to Cook’s 644. A scary head injury ended Parham Jr.’s season prematurely, and he missed practice again Tuesday because of a hamstring injury that kept him out much of preseason, per Daniel Popper of The Athletic. 

With great hands and no real backup to speak of for now, Everett looks like an excellent late-round fantasy pick.