Oronde Gadsden II catches five passes against Seahawks

Both Gadsden and Charlie Kolar had five targets on the day. (Kolar caught three of those targets for 20 yards.) Gadsden logged 28 pass routes to 24 for Kolar. The split-up tight end role will make it next to impossible for either player to be fantasy relevant without catching a touchdown. The Chargers are on bye next week.

Gadsden had another disappointing outing for the Chargers and his fantasy managers on Sunday. He’s now been held without a catch in two of his last three games and has yet to exceed 36 receiving yards in any game this season. Playing in one of the worst offenses in the league certainly doesn’t help things, but Gadsden can’t be trusted by fantasy managers at this point and won’t be on the fantasy radar in Week 6 when the Chargers visit the Chiefs.

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.