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How Hayden Hurst & Poona Ford Will Impact the Chargers

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The Bolts added two more free agents to their roster with the signings of tight end Hayden Hurst and defensive tackle Poona Ford.

Each player has plenty of NFL experience as both Hurst and Ford entered the league in 2018.

Here's how each player will impact the Bolts.

Hayden Hurst

The Bolts continued to revamp their tight end room with the addition of Hurst, who will be a fresh face along with fellow free-agent addition Will Dissly.

New Chargers General Manager Joe Hortiz knows Hurst well as they were both in Baltimore when the Ravens selected the tight end in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

And while Hurst has bounced around and played on three teams — Falcons, Bengals and Panthers — in recent years, he should still provide quality depth at that position.

Hurst has 195 career catches for 1,902 yards and 15 touchdowns. His most productive season came in 2020 with Atlanta when he hauled in 56 catches for 571 yards and six scores.

Much like Dissly, Hurst is unlikely to suddenly develop into a bondafide star in the passing game.

But he has strong hands and will be a secondary option for Justin Herbert while also helping out in the run game.

Plus, Hurst is a veteran presence who seemingly has the respect of his peers across the league for his openness with his mental health journey.

If the Chargers ended up drafting a tight end next month, Hurst will be the perfect veteran to learn from.

Poona Ford

Ford is the first defensive free agent the Bolts have added who wasn't previously with the team.

And it comes at a position of need as the Chargers were a little thin on defensive tackle depth.

The Bolts currently have Morgan Fox, Otito Ogbonnia and Scott Matlock on the depth chart along with Christopher Hinton, Jerrod Clark and CJ Okoye.

Ford provides both depth and experience as he's played in 84 career games with 64 starts, tallying 8.5 career sacks.

The hope is that Ford will provide some juice in the pass-rushing department while also helping out against the run, too.

The Los Angeles Chargers today signed defensive lineman Poona Ford.

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