The 2023 fantasy football season is here, meaning now is the time to dive into Los Angeles Chargers TE Gerald Everett’s fantasy projections to determine whether or not managers are receiving a value on draft day. Can Everett become a consistent name in the TE1 range in a new system, and should he be a player you draft this year?
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Gerald Everett’s 2023 Fantasy Projection
The tight end position in fantasy football is about the haves and the have-nots. Either you have an elite, reliable tight end to start every week, or you have one of the seemingly 10 different guys who all receive the “low-end TE1 upside” tag next to their name where 50+ yards and/or a touchdown seemingly was all it took to crack the top 12.
Everett has been in the latter of those two options since he entered the league. While he has yet to record a TE1 (top-12) season, Everett is coming off a career-best year and has some rather sneaky upside as we head into 2023.
Everett finished as the TE15 overall last season for the Chargers and 14th in per game scoring with 7.5 half-PPR fantasy points. Yet, he set career-highs in targets (87), receptions (55), yards (555), and touchdowns (4). Despite a low 14% target share, Everett was targeted on 21.9% of his routes (13th) and was ninth overall in routes run while sitting eighth in slot snaps.
Additionally, Everett tied for the fourth-most red-zone targets (16) and was sixth in expected fantasy points per game.
The Chargers were Everett’s third team in as many years, and while he does once again face a coaching change and a new scheme, he didn’t have to go anywhere to do so as former Dallas OC Kellen Moore has taken the same role with the Chargers.
That is a pretty big deal, given how Moore utilized the tight end position. In 2021, Dalton Schultz was the TE3 overall, and in 2022, he was the TE10 in points per game.
Moore likes to throw the ball in his system, leaving enough targets to go around, even with the addition of Quentin Johnston. Let’s also remember that injuries play a part within the Chargers organization. Keenan Allen is aging and dealt with a nagging injury last year, Mike Williams is the definition of an injury-prone player, and Austin Ekeler is an aging running back.
If you are looking for a potential breakout TE for redraft fantasy football leagues in 2023, and Chigoziem Okonkwo’s value keeps rising because he is the worst-kept secret as everyone’s favorite breakout, Everett is a name to remember.
Current projections have Everett slated for 55-60 receptions on approximately 85-90 targets for 575-600 yards and five touchdowns in 2023, which would have placed him as a low-end TE1 last season in half-PPR formats.
Should You Draft Gerald Everett This Year?
The Chargers are one team I want to target heavily in redraft leagues this year, as they can be a fantasy football goldmine. I love the scheme Moore is bringing to Los Angeles, and it perfectly complements what Justin Herbert excels at, which is getting the ball vertically.
My only concern is how many high-level players they have and that someone every week will likely be slightly left out of the equation. Between Allen, Williams, Johnston, Ekeler, and even Josh Palmer, Everett is not the top priority in this offense, and there are only so many opportunities to go around.
More than likely, Everett needs an injury somewhere to maximize his potential, but I still view him as a high-end TE2 in 12-team formats. Although the consistency hasn’t been there, even last season, there was even more room for growth given his usage inside the red zone, and with Everett being a player who thrives in open space, he also meshes well with this new scheme.
I make projections with a median outlook rather than going full bold take, so I would not be surprised if Everett surpasses his yardage and touchdown totals with better efficiency in 2023.
Suppose you would like to pass on Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, or T.J. Hockenson and are choosing to wait on the position.
In that case, Everett is possibly one of the best values you can find and is currently being drafted as between the TE15-20 off the board with an ADP of somewhere between the 120 and 165 region. That places him anywhere from the 11th round to the 14th round. At that the lower end of that scale, Everett is a pure upside play with little to no risk.