The Chargers signed wide receiver DJ Chark Jr. to a one-season deal reportedly worth up to $5 million on Monday, adding depth and experience. Three of the Chargers’ nine draft picks last month were receivers, as General Manager Joe Hortiz and Coach Jim Harbaugh sought to replenish the position.
In their first draft together, Hortiz and Harbaugh picked Ladd McConkey of Georgia in the second round and USC’s Brenden Rice and Cornelius Johnson of Michigan in the seventh. Veteran receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams were jettisoned as salary cap casualties in March.
Chark, 27, spent this past season with the Carolina Panthers, catching 35 passes for 525 yards and five touchdowns in 15 games. He played with the Detroit Lions in the 2022 season and the previous four seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who drafted him in the second round in 2018.
He was a Pro Bowl selection in 2019, his second season in the NFL, when he set career highs with 73 receptions on 118 targets for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns while with the Jaguars. Overall, he has averaged 14.5 yards per catch during his 69-game career over six seasons.
Chark and the three draft picks bolster a receiver corps that includes veteran Joshua Palmer and second-year players Derius Davis and Quentin Johnston. Palmer and Johnston were quarterback Justin Herbert’s top remaining targets after Allen was traded and Williams was released.