The Los Angeles Chargers are in need of some tight end help, and Pro Bowl pass rusher Melvin Ingram is ready to offer his services.
Melvin Ingram wants to play a little tight end for the Chargers, and we’re here for it
Ingram is one of the NFL’s best pass rushers. If he wants to play some tight end, we’d love to see it.
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After parting ways with Antonio Gates earlier in the offseason, the Chargers lost 2016 second-round pick Hunter Henry to a torn ACL in May. For now, former Broncos tight end Virgil Green is slated to start at tight end for Los Angeles, but Ingram thinks he should get a chance at a few offensive snaps.
“It’s just getting in where I can fit in, you feel me?” Ingram said, via ESPN. “Just making some plays — the more you can do — everybody here knows that I want to get me a couple touches.”
Ingram, 29, is so confident in his tight end skills that he challenged rookie defensive back Tony Brown to some one-on-one drills.
The video shows only two plays, but Ingram makes a decent case here. On the first pass, he shakes Brown with a jab step and cut toward the sideline. On the second, he beats Brown deep and catches the pass in the back end zone. We’ll let it slide that he didn’t get both feet down.
Neither player is in pads, and neither is going full speed, so take the results with a grain of salt. But the general point is Ingram looked smooth and natural running routes and catching passes.
It has worked for other teams in the past. Houston Texans star defensive end J.J. Watt has three career receiving touchdowns, defensive tackle Tyson Alualu caught two passes during his time with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Tennessee Titans once completed a pass to defensive lineman Karl Klug.
The Chargers have little depth behind Green, and have reportedly contacted 38-year-old Gates about a possible reunion. If Ingram could take a few snaps and do so with success, it’d be a big help for the Los Angeles offense.
There’s no doubt Ingram has the requisite athleticism for the position. He’s not just a good defensive end, either. Ingram is one half of arguably the best pass-rushing duo in the NFL, along with Joey Bosa. He’s one of only 12 players in the NFL with at least 29 sacks in the last three seasons and earned a four-year, $66 million extension last summer.
If Ingram thinks he can help out as a pass catcher, it’s worth giving him a shot.
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