LOS ANGELES — In his first news conference as the Chargers’ new tight ends coach, Chandler Henley emphasized the offense’s goal of creating “run-pass conflict.” Henley, who spent the past four seasons with Mike McDaniel in Miami, said the tight end is central to that conflict because the position fronts the run game while remaining heavily involved in the passing attack.
David Njoku signed a one-year deal worth up to $8 million last week and is viewed as a natural fit for McDaniel’s system. Njoku, 29, said he chose the Chargers because of the fit and specifically cited McDaniel and quarterback Justin Herbert. The team expects to leverage Njoku’s well-documented ability to gain yards after the catch.
Henley said Njoku’s presence should both clarify defenses’ focus and create opportunities for other players. “When he’s in the game, people already know who he is; he’s also going to help it open up for other people,” Henley said, adding that a veteran like Njoku can provide valuable experience for younger tight ends such as Oronde Gadsden.
McDaniel’s approach stands in contrast to former Chargers coordinator Greg Roman despite some surface similarities. Both coaches have been effective at designing rushing schemes, but McDaniel favors zone concepts while Roman favored gap schemes. McDaniel said his use of heavy personnel is intended to confuse defenses rather than simply overwhelm them: “All defenses are trying to do is they’re trying to guess a play they don’t know,” he said.
Personnel usage trends bear that out. As Baltimore’s coordinator, Roman used 12 personnel (two tight ends) about 14% of the time; that fell to 6% during his Chargers tenure. McDaniel used 12 personnel roughly 12% of the time in Miami, a rate that suggests tight ends such as Njoku and Gadsden could see more involvement than they have recently in Los Angeles. McDaniel noted that his offenses evolve to players’ talents. Miami’s tight ends ranked last in targets in his first two seasons and 24th in 2025 but climbed to seventh in 2024, driven by Jonnu Smith’s career highs in targets (111), receptions (88) and yards (884), including 505 yards after the catch.
