THE Los Angeles Charges have added veteran help to one of the NFL’s lightest wide receiver rooms.
Stars Keenan Allen and Mike Williams left Los Angeles this offseason, along with Austin Ekeler and Gerald Everett.
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New head coach Jim Harbaugh is expected to field a high-octane offense like his Michigan and San Francisco 49ers teams.
Los Angeles passed on the chance to add Rome Odunze or Malik Nabers with the No. 5 pick in the NFL Draft — opting instead to add offensive tackle Joe Alt.
But it brought in six-year receiver DJ Chark on a one-year deal to give Justin Herbert an experienced target.
Until his hiring, the Chargers had not had a starter with more than three years in the NFL or a season with more than 800 yards.
Chark, 27, last played for the Carolina Panthers and had 525 yards and five touchdowns on 35 receptions, but didn’t do enough to earn his tenure.
The 6-foot-4-inch wideout has battled injuries for five years.
His best season to date was with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019, where he caught 73 passes for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns.
This led to him making the Pro Bowl for the first and only time in his career.
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Chark will join former Carolina teammates Hayden Hurst and Bradley Bozeman in Los Angeles.
Joshua Palmer and Quentin Johnston remain on the team and will compete with Chark for snaps.
The Chargers also brought in help via the Draft in the form of seventh-round pick Brenden Rice.
The former University of Southern California star is said to have answered the Chargers’ call at his friend’s funeral.
He was saying goodbye to the late Keith Miller III of Texas A&M University-Commerce.
Miller died at age 22 two weeks ago.
He was found dead in his apartment near campus on April 11.
His funeral coincided with Day 3 of the Draft, according to an NFL source Ian Rapoport.
Rapoport reported that Rice, 22, was present at Miller’s funeral.
The Chargers’ new wide receiver is said to have boarded a plane to Dallas, Texas on Saturday morning so he could say goodbye for the last time.
Former USC standout Rice served as a pallbearer during the ceremony and gave an obituary speech, according to Rapoport.
The NFL source added that Rice received a call from the Chargers to inform him that they would draft him at No. 225 overall.
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