Oronde Gadsden II catches five passes against Seahawks

He did rejoin practice today, making it plausible he’ll be up for the Chargers’ Week 5 game against the Broncos. Second-year receiving TE Oronde Gadsden was unable to seize the moment with Kolar and TE David Njoku (knee) sidelined last week, catching 0-of-3 targets. The once-promising youngster must do something on Sunday if he wishes to remain re-draft-relevant in 12-team formats.

Gadsden’s first target of the day was on a third-down pass that hit off his hands and landed on the grass. Neither of his other two targets was particularly close to being caught. He did play on 39 of the team’s 69 snaps, more than any other tight end, and ran a route on 31 of their 43 dropbacks, which was the third-most of any player on the Chargers. We guess you can talk yourself into his role based on those numbers, but the results weren’t there, and the Chargers look discombobulated on offense. It’s hard to trust Gadsden in fantasy going forward.

Kolar’s surgery earlier this week reportedly changed his prognosis. Kolar was expected to land on short-term injured reserve and miss at least four games. Apparently, the team expects him back sooner than that. Backup TE Oronde Gadsden is still set to start, given Kolar and TE David Njoku’s (knee) injuries, but Gadsden’s audition window has evidently shrunk. He remains a worthwhile add and can be started by TE-needy fantasy managers in what should be a productive game environment against the Bills this week.

David Njoku left the game early with a knee injury and Charlie Kolar followed him to the locker room much later because of a forearm injury. As a result, Gadsden’s route rate jumped from 14 percent in Week 1 to 48 percent today. He still managed just two catches, but Gadsden at least found the end zone for the first time this year. The Chargers offense has looked defunct through two weeks, so even a full-time role for Gadsden could result in middling fantasy numbers. Still, he is worth a look off the waiver wire for teams in need of tight end production.

McDaniel was asked why Gadsden only played eight snaps in Week 1. The Chargers’ offensive coordinator said he expected Gadsden to get more involved last week, but the game “didn’t play out” that way. McDaniel closed by saying he expects Gadsden “to be more involved outside of an unforeseen situation where the game and the parameters with which you’re playing change — and therein lies the problem. Gadsden is not a full-time player. Projecting his weekly usage will be challenging. He is currently not worth starting in 12-team leagues, though that could change if McDaniel decides to feature him.

Gadsden hardly saw the field against Arizona. He ran just seven pass routes while David Njoku logged 17 routes and caught all five of his targets. Gadsden is clearly an afterthought in the Chargers passing offense for now. He should remain on waiver wires ahead of the Bolts’ Week 2 game against the Raiders.

Way back in late May, the Athletic’s Daniel Popper suggested Kolar, who signed a three-year, $24.3 million contract with the Bolts this spring, would enter the season as LA’s top tight end “because of his complete skill set.” Week 1 usage will tell us a lot about how offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel will use his tight ends, but for now it seems Kolar will lead the group in Week 1 against the Cardinals. David Njoku and Oronde Gadsden II, however, could see more pass game involvement depending on how many routes they run in a given week, and whether the Chargers go run-heavy against an opponent. None of the Chargers’ tight ends are particularly appealing fantasy plays for Week 1.

The second-year incumbent tight end is seemingly behind the Chargers’ free agent signee veteran TEs Charlie Kolar and David Njoku. Neither Kolar nor Njoku suited up this evening. Gadsden can still be viewed as a TE2/3 in best ball formats, but his current role could be undesirable for re-draft purposes.

Rhim caveats the thought by adding that increased tight end usage “is not a guarantee.” The key takeaway for second-year TE Oronde Gadsden is that Rhim thinks recent free agent signee, TE David Njoku, could take on the TE1 role, noting Njoku possesses “valuable experience that a guy like Gadsden can learn from.” That said, in a piece where Rhim highlighted the tight end position’s importance in the new scheme, he referenced only Gadsden and Njoku, seemingly indicating this is a two-player race for the TE1 job. Njoku’s play has declined recently, as has his health. Gadsden might currently be the TE2, but we have to get through spring and summer practices first.

A week after visiting with the Chargers, Njoku is now set to join them on a deal that is worth up to $8 million, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The 29-year-old tight end had one of the worst seasons of his career in 2025, as injuries and the emergence of rookie Harold Fannin resulted in Njoku catching just 33 passes for 293 yards and four touchdowns in 12 games. Injuries have slowed Njoku each of the last two seasons. He’s appeared in just 23 of a possible 34 regular-season games over that span and has averaged 8.9 YPR or fewer in both seasons. However, if he can stay healthy, he should provide another reliable weapon for Justin Herbert in the passing game. His arrival could have a negative impact on Oronde Gadsden, but given both tight ends’ ability to line up both in-line and in the slot, it also wouldn’t be surprising if the Chargers ran more two-tight-end sets