Gerald Everett

Everett had numerous career highs last year in his first season with the Chargers, catching 58 of 87 targets for 555 yards and four TDs. He’s elusive after the catch and knows how to get open, but he's struggled with everything from drops (nine last year) to blocking to fumbles to penalties, never quite putting it all together since the Rams drafted him 44th overall in 2017. He figures to reprise his role atop the Chargers’ underwhelming TE depth chart, likely serving as the fourth or fifth option in a passing game that also wants to feed RB Austin Ekeler and WRs Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Quentin Johnston. New offensive coordinator Kellen Moore did good work in Dallas with TE Dalton Schultz, who averaged 94 targets, 666.7 yards and 5.7 TDs the past three years after catching only 13 passes total his first two NFL seasons. Everett could fit well in a similar role, mostly running short routes and serving as a check-down read for QB Justin Herbert.

Everett is returning to Los Angeles, only this time with the Chargers after spending 2021 in Seattle and 2017-20 with the Rams. The 6-3 Everett has improved in small but steady increments throughout his career, increasing his receiving yards in each of his five NFL seasons. In 15 games last season, Everett set career highs in targets, catches, yards and touchdowns, though the first three of those ranked no higher than 20th among tight ends. Three of his four TD catches came on just eight red-zone targets, though. He appears well positioned to continue his slow, upward career trajectory in a Chargers offense helmed by Justin Herbert, considering Everett’s predecessor in Los Angeles, Jared Cook, turned 83 targets into 48 catches for 564 yards and four touchdowns last year. And after sharing snaps and targets with Tyler Higbee in Los Angeles and with a committee in Seattle, the sixth-year pro has only Donald Parham (27 targets last year) in his path this season.

A 2017 second-round pick, Everett improved his yardage total each year in Los Angeles, going from 244 to 320 to 408 to 417. Of course, none of those numbers is large enough to warrant much interest from fantasy managers, with Everrett stuck in a timeshare alongside Tyler Higbee throughout his time in Los Angeles. The 27-year-old now moves to Seattle — where there's no Higbee and the QB is a future Hall of Famer — but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll finally have a full-time role. The Seahawks also have 265-pound Will Dissly and 2020 fourth-round pick Colby Parkinson at tight end, a spot that's often been handled by committee during the Pete Carroll era. Everett is an obvious favorite to lead the three in targets, but Dissly did poach 29 last year, while Greg Olsen and Jacob Hollister (both gone now) combined for 77. Given Russell Wilson's efficiency, Everett could be startable for fantasy managers with only four or five targets per week.

Conventional wisdom suggested Everett would emerge as a reliable asset if he could ever escape from his timeshare with Tyler Higbee. But it turns out Everett was holding his teammate back rather than other way around, as Higbee erupted for 522 yards in five December games while Everett nursed a hyperextended knee. The official record shows Everett playing 13 games last year, but that includes Weeks 16 and 17 when he logged four snaps. Perhaps the strangest thing about this unexpected turn is that Everett had finally appeared to break through earlier in the year, averaging 4.7 catches for 53.7 yards in a six-game stretch Weeks 4-10. Granted, he did it with volume (8.2 targets per game) rather than efficiency (6.6 YPT), which perhaps explains why coach Sean McVay ended his flirtation with two-TE formations even before Everett hurt his knee. It now appears likely that the final year of Everett's rookie contract will also be his last season with the Rams, but there's a strong case to be made for McVay re-exploring those multi-TE sets after Brandin Cooks was traded to Houston. Whether Everett is competing against Higbee or wide receivers Josh Reynolds and Van Jefferson remains to be seen.

Everett heads into his third NFL season for what could be a make-or-break year in his pursuit to earn a long-term place in the Rams' plans. The 2017 second-round pick has flashed the playmaking upside that led the team to pursue him out of UAB, but consistency has proven elusive in an offense centered around three-wide formations, with incumbent TE Tyler Higbee yet to relinquish the starting role. Higbee played 788 snaps to Everett's 380 last year, but Everett's workload picked up in the second half, with 213 of his snaps in the final six weeks after slot receiver Cooper Kupp suffered an ACL tear. With Kupp and Todd Gurley both coming back from knee injuries, there might be a subtle opening for Everett to make his mark on Sean McVay's high-powered offense in 2019. The Rams did increase their usage of two-TE formations late last season, allowing Everett to share the field with Higbee at times.

Rookie tight ends are usually asked to learn and observe as much as they're asked to play, and that's the script Everett followed for much of his freshman year. But he did pop for 15.3 yards a catch on his 16 receptions, and he snuck in a couple of touchdowns on just 32 targets. Tyler Higbee has failed to carve out a secure role in Los Angeles, which paves the way for Everett to angle toward a Year 2 jump. Keep in mind he was the 44th overall pick in a draft loaded with talent at his position, so there's a pedigree card to play. It also doesn't hurt that Everett tore up the 2017 Combine, making up for a mediocre 40 time (4.64) by finishing top five among tight ends in the vertical jump, broad jump, bench press, three-cone drill and 20-yard shuttle.

Considered a reach at 44th overall by many pundits, Everett caught the eye of the Los Angeles brass and will open the season competing for snaps and targets with 2016 fourth-rounder Tyler Higbee. Everett owns the speed and athleticism to be a matchup nightmare, and coach Sean McVay leaned heavily on the tight end position in the passing attack as Washington's offensive coordinator the past three seasons. Rookie tight ends rarely turn in serviceable fantasy seasons, though, and Everett will probably need time to grow accustomed to the NFL before becoming a reliable asset in the virtual game. Joining the league-worst passing attack from last year isn't exactly a favorable fantasy situation, either.