Camp puts three roles under the same label: starter. DJ Giddens can line up behind Jonathan Taylor for the first snap, Greg Dulcich can open with Miami's offense, and David Njoku can take a rep with Justin Herbert. The label doesn't tell us about third-down routes, passing work or goal-line work. A first-team rep matters only when the assignment can survive Sundays.
Passing-down work, durable route participation and a direct contingency path matter more than an isolated first-team rep. Stash Giddens only as a contingency behind Taylor. Wait on Dulcich until routes stabilize. Wait to draft Njoku until he earns stable routes with the Chargers. A predictive report tells us the assignment. A report without an assignment gives us only the huddle.
“Is DJ Giddens the direct contingency behind Jonathan Taylor?”
Yes, as a contingency. He hasn't earned a weekly role. Indianapolis has Taylor first and Giddens second, with Seth McGowan behind them. That order gives Giddens the shortest path to a meaningful rushing workload if Taylor misses time. His 2025 role behind Taylor had no passing-down work.
Across his 2025 appearances, Giddens averaged 5.2 carries, 0.4 targets and an 18.2% snap share.
In Week 18 against Houston, he had eight carries on 20 snaps and zero targets. The rushing work was there. He didn't have pass protection, a route or third-and-7 work.
The camp assignment that matters is end-of-half or third-down work with the starters. It needs repeatable work. One opening snap may come from practice and personnel.
My call: Giddens will average under 2.0 targets per game in 2026. Beat that with sustained passing-down work and he becomes more than injury insurance. Until then, he's a narrow stash for Taylor managers or deep benches.
“Should I draft Greg Dulcich when Miami calls him the starter?”
Wait for the routes. Miami's current depth chart puts Dulcich first and Will Kacmarek second. The opportunity is real, but the depth chart only answers who leads the room today. It doesn't tell us which tight end stays involved when the offense shifts from an early-down look to an obvious passing situation.
Miami's 2025 motion rate was 55.9%. Motion can free a tight end from contact and create an easier release. It can also move a player through the formation without giving him a featured receiving job.
Dulcich's finish shows both outcomes. Over his final three appearances, he drew 4.3 targets a week and earned an 18.1% target share. His snap rate was just 39.0%. His target share rose down the stretch, but the 39.0% snap rate kept the role incomplete.
We still don't have verified route-participation data for that stretch, so don't pretend the target spike settles the job. Look for Dulcich to release into the pattern on third down, stay in during hurry-up work and remain involved after Miami changes personnel. A ceremonial start followed by a sideline visit on the money downs doesn't help a lineup.
Dulcich becomes draftable when that work repeats with the starters. Before then, take a tight end with a settled passing job or preserve the roster spot for the preseason rotation that actually earns it.
The Sunday test
Before changing a draft plan because of one camp report, ask:
- Did the assignment carry fantasy value? Pass protection, a third-down route, a designed touch or a goal-line snap tells us more than the first handoff of practice.
- Did it happen again? Repetition across several practices is harder to dismiss as installation or experimentation.
- Who was absent? A temporary opening can close as soon as the usual starter returns.
- Did the player survive a personnel change? A tight end or receiver who stays involved in base offense and passing situations has a job a fantasy lineup can use.
The checklist won't remove uncertainty. The risk is promoting one practice rep into a season-long role before the coaches have made one.
“David Njoku joined the Chargers. Isn't that enough?”
It's enough to create opportunity, not to declare a winner. Njoku's signing with Los Angeles is official, and the Chargers finished 2025 with a 63.3% pass rate. They threw 62.1% of the time in neutral game states. That environment can support tight end targets, especially with Herbert deciding where the ball goes.
The current order still asks Njoku to climb. Oronde Gadsden is listed first at tight end, with Njoku second. Last year's declining role means he still has to win 2026 routes. His final three appearances produced 1.7 targets a week and a 41.7% snap rate. In the three games before that, he averaged 4.3 targets while playing 57.0% of the snaps.
The signing changed the uniform. It didn't erase the decline.
I'd rather react one week late than draft Njoku for a role he hasn't won. He needs routes with Herbert in concepts that can make him the first or second read, particularly on third down and near the goal line. Two-tight-end formations alone won't settle it. Gadsden and Njoku can share the field while only one consistently enters the quarterback's progression.
Repeated starter routes would change the answer. A few catches during one practice period wouldn't.
“Which question shows which assignments are likely to last?”
Follow the snap to its purpose. A back trusted in pass protection can stay on the field after a negative play. A tight end sent into the route on third down can earn a target when the defense expects a throw. A goal-line rep carries more scoring weight than a carry from the offense's own 35.
Giddens needs passing situations. Dulcich needs routes that survive personnel changes. Njoku needs to move ahead in Herbert's reads. Those are three separate tests, which is why “worked with the starters” can't answer all three.
Readers get a reusable filter plus three moves: stash the direct contingency, wait for stable routes, or fade a camp winner until the assignment is verified. Act when August shows who remains on the field after practice starts looking like Sunday.
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