Contract Terms
Will Dissly will sign a three-year, $14 million deal with the Los Angeles Chargers, per Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report. The deal includes $10 million guaranteed.
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Fantasy Football Impact
Dissly was a fourth-round pick for the Seattle Seahawks in 2018. He has spent the last six seasons playing second fiddle to a revolving cast of tight ends, including Gerald Everett in 2021, the player he now replaces with the Chargers. His best season to date was 2022 when he recorded 34 catches on 38 targets, totaling 349 and three touchdowns. Last season, he was the third man on the committee for Seattle, finishing with just 17 catches, 172 yards, and a single touchdown.
While that intro paints a bleak picture, the pastures are greener in Los Angeles. The Chargers recently hired Jim Harbaugh as their head coach, and he brought in Greg Roman as his offensive coordinator. The link between these two, other than Roman working for Harbaugh's brother, is that they love to run the ball, and they utilize their tight end.
Roman was with the Baltimore Ravens from 2017 to 2022. Their TE1 finished in the Top 12 for fantasy five times during that span. Yes, four of those five were Mark Andrews. No, Will Dissly is not Mark Andrews. But the fifth time was Benjamin Watson, and Dissly could live up to that standard. Harbaugh hasn't coached in the NFL since 2014, but his tight end with San Francisco was Vernon Davis, and I assure you, he was good for fantasy.
Focusing on Roman, no Baltimore TE1 during his time finished with fewer than 50 targets, and that was Andrews' rookie season. Dissly has never had more than 38 targets in a single season. In this system, he could easily step in and have the best season of his career at 28 years of age.
The Fantasy Football Fallout
As I pointed out in recent articles about Noah Fant and Colby Parkinson, the fallout in Seattle is minimal. Dissly was rarely used, but his absence should free up some targets for Fant, the now clear-cut No. 1 tight end for the Seahawks.
In Los Angeles, there are so many moving parts that it's hard to judge the fallout this early. In addition to a new coach and offensive coordinator, they have parted ways with Austin Ekeler and may trade or release Mike Williams as soon as this week. While they let Gerald Everett walk in free agency, they retained both Donald Parham Jr and Stone Smartt at tight end. Both will remain in backup roles behind Dissly.
Outside of Dissly, another beneficiary here is Justin Herbert. In this new offense, he needs a competent tight end, and Dissly brings a much-needed veteran presence into the locker room. You need someone you can depend on at a position that could finish second in targets behind Keenan Allen. While he hasn't played a ton, Dissly has been around the NFL for six years and has caught 81% of the balls thrown his way for an above-average 11.1 yards per catch.
Stock Watch
Risers
Fallers
Overview
After spending the last six seasons in a timeshare with Seattle, Dissly will get a crack at a starting job in a very tight-end-friendly offense. The Los Angeles Chargers gave him a three-year deal worth $14 million.
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