The Los Angeles Chargers, for the second year in a row, had a strong draft behind the guidance of Joe Hortiz and Jim Harbaugh.
This year, the team added Omarion Hampton and Tre Harris to an offense that showed its weak spots in a blowout loss to the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round. While those two additions are exciting, most felt the team still needed better options at the tight end position.
Will Dissly and Tyler Conklin — both serviceable — are not players who will stretch the field and add a new dimension to the offense. They will be expected to carry the load to begin the season, but don’t sleep on fifth-round pick Oronde Gadsden II. Once a highly touted college prospect, injuries slowed him down and contributed to him sliding down the draft board, but the Chargers got a young, athletic talent with an NFL bloodline.
Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report likes the chances of Gadsden as well. Recently, he took a look at five tight ends who weren’t drafted in the first round this year that have a chance to be a breakout weapon and Gadsden tops that list.
While projecting that Gadsden will catch 60 passes for 650 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie, Sobleski had this to say:
“Orande Gadsden is a natural fit as a receiving threat in the Los Angeles Chargers offense. During his time with the Syracuse Orange, Gadsden was a tight end in title but a wide receiver in practice—which should come naturally after his father played the position for seven years in the NFL.
Despite being an excellent target at the collegiate level, the younger Gadsden fell to the fifth round before the Los Angeles Chargers selected him with the 165th overall pick. His plummet occurred due to a combination of not being much of an in-line option while also having previous injury concerns due to a season-ending Lisfranc injury during the 2023 campaign.
Gadsden was the lowest-selected among the tight ends mentioned, but he tops the list because of his natural receiving skills, opportunities he may get with the Chargers and early positive impressions.
“He’s picked up the offense really well and has been getting a bunch of reps with us,” quarterback Justin Herbert told reporters Wednesday. “Anytime I can get out there and get him the ball to see what he can do, he’s made some big-time plays.”
Veterans Will Dissly and Tyler Conklin aren’t significant threats in the passing game. Gadsden can and should be featured as such.”
Jim Harbaugh has taken notice of Gadsden’s efforts early on this offseason. Catching the head coach’s eye like that is a good thing and it can be expected that the rookie will be a part of the team’s game plans right out of the gate.
It’s also fantasy football season. If you’re light at tight end and looking for a player to take a shot on in the later rounds, this is the guy.
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