NFL Free Agency predictions: Texans will sign DJ Chark
The 2023 NFL free agency class is a good one, but the wide receiver position certainly leaves something to be desired. Depending on who you ask, the top player at the position in this class might just be New England Patriots receiver Jakobi Meyers. With all due respect to Meyers, it doesn’t speak to the overall volume of quality players set to hit free agency at receiver.
That could change in the near future with salary cap cuts around the league, and the trade market at receiver will almost certainly be hot yet again, but one name that has certainly piqued the interest of a variety of different fan bases around the country is former Pro Bowl receiver DJ Chark.
Chark signed a one-year deal with the Detroit Lions in the 2022 offseason and worked pretty well in their offense. The Lions had a lot of mouths to feed last year, but Chark made plays.
DJ Chark one of the top WRs in 2023 NFL free agency
- 30 receptions
- 502 yards
- 3 touchdowns
Now, those numbers don’t really jump off the page, but consider that Chark had just over 50 targets in 11 games played. It’s not an automatic that he’s going to be able to play more games and take on a higher volume of targets in a new NFL city, but that’s certainly a reasonable assumption.
If you extrapolate those numbers over 100 targets, Chark would have had a 1,000-yard season with six touchdowns on almost 17 yards per reception. He’s always been a highly effective vertical threat and, of course, everyone loves talking about his 4.3 speed at 6-foot-4. You simply don’t see guys like this too often, and there are a number of team fits out there for Chark in free agency.
The Bears need receivers. The Vikings have Keenan McCardell on their coaching staff, the guy who was Chark’s receiver coach in Jacksonville when he made the Pro Bowl in 2019. The Lions could try to bring him back. The Eagles could load up at receiver and bring Chark in where he would reunite with the GM that drafted him, Dave Caldwell.
There are a lot of intriguing options out there but the Houston Texans with their coaching staff coming in from (mostly) San Francisco really stands out as a fun option to me. The Texans have plenty of cap space at over $37 million.
New offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik is going to be bringing that San Francisco brand of football to Houston and one thing those guys excel at with Kyle Shanahan is finding ways to let the playmakers do damage after the catch. Yes, Chark can stretch the field extremely well but he could also be a threat in the open field with that speed.
Under general manager Nick Caserio, the Texans have been no strangers to free agent acquisitions. They’ve been one of the most active teams on the free agent market.
They could be looking to move on from Brandin Cooks in the 2023 offseason and will need someone like Chark to come in and stretch the field in his place. Although there are plenty of other fits for Chark around the league this coming offseason, the Texans stand out as a team that might be willing to pay him fair value on a multi-year deal as opposed to Chark having to take a team friendly deal to play with a team like the Vikings or Eagles.