Tyler

Conklin

A fourth-down go for the Chargers in the third quarter ended with Justin Herbert’s ball hitting Conklin directly in the face mask. His only actual catch of the game was delivered by Trey Lance on the final garbage time drive. The Chargers just don’t seem to get their tight ends involved enough for either Conklin or Oronde Gadsden II (1/14, 36 snaps to Conklin’s 20) to have real fantasy value at this point.

It was rookie TE Oronde Gadsden II, not Conklin, who filled in for Will Dissly (knee) against Denver. Gadsden was second on the team with seven targets on the day despite running just 17 pass routes. It would appear Conklin — who has two receptions on the season — is unplayable in all fantasy formats even with Dissly sidelined.

Dissly will sit with a knee injury, leaving Tyler Conklin as the Chargers’ No. 1 tight end against a tough Denver coverage unit. Rookie TE Oronde Gadsden, Jr. could also see some snaps with Dissly sidelined. Conklin won’t be playable in fantasy leagues outside the deepest formats.

The free agent addition split time with Will Dissly in his LA debut. Though Conklin technically led the team’s tight ends in all receiving categories, a weekly diet of two targets isn’t enough to put him on the streaming radar for fantasy purposes. Conklin also coughed up a fumble on a long gain that Ladd McConkey punched out of bounds, resulting in a penalty that negated some of the yards Conklin had just picked up. Neither LA tight end is in the fantasy picture for Week 2.

Gadsden and Tyler Conklin both logged three first-drive snaps and Conklin failed to secure his lone target. Gadsden has a long way to go before he becomes re-draft-relevant but he’s getting reps alongside Conklin, which is a good start.

The Chargers haven’t had a padded practice yet, so take this with a grain of salt. With that in mind, Popper writes that the rookie tight end “served as the bright spot for the offense in Saturday’s practice” while highlighting a handful of plays made by the fifth-rounder. Gadsden has been a standout throughout the offseason and was once compared to Darren Waller by offensive coordinator Greg Roman. While he’ll still have to battle with veterans Tyler Conklin and Will Dissly for playing time this season, a strong training camp could change how coaches view their tight ends room.

Gadsden, taken with the 165th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, has drawn praise from Chargers coaches and players this offseason. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman said last week that Gadsden is “flashing” in offseason practices. “I know it’s a huge, huge forecast, but I was fortunate to coach Darren Waller and Darren Waller was a receiver in college,” Bischoff said when asked about Gadsden. “We turned him into a tight end. He’s got some of those traits. It’s way early. Way early, but he’s twitchy. He separates, he does some really good things in the pass game. I think as he’s become more comfortable in our system in the last four or five days, I think people are beginning to see that.” Like Waller, Gadsden operated primarily as a big slot receiver in college, catching 73 balls for 934 yards and seven touchdowns in his final season at Syracuse. Gadsen is probably a better bet to eventually emerge as Justin Herbert’s primary pass-catching tight end than journeyman Tyler Conklin.

Roman said he expects Gadsden to “ascend quickly.” He also praised free agent addition Tyler Conklin, noting how often he gets open. Transitioning from the college ranks to the pros is as hard as it gets at the tight end position. It’s even harder when you played a de facto slot receiver role in college as Gadsden did. Being forced to learn a more traditional tight end role should be a tall order for the rookie, but it sounds like Gadsden is taking it in stride. While the fifth-round pick might not be a viable fantasy option in Week 1, he could earn enough work as a part-time player to stymie Will Dissly’s TE2 fantasy outlook.

It’s a one-year, $3 million contract with incentives that can reach up to $4.5 million, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. A former fifth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings, Conklin spent the last three years with the Jets. The 29-year-old tight end had career-highs in both catches (61) and yards (621) in 2023, when Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles in Week 1. Conklin’s situation has certainly improved with the move to the Chargers, where he’s ostensibly the top receiving tight end and a borderline TE1 in fantasy. Los Angeles could still opt to draft a tight end, though, and coach Jim Harbaugh is linked to top prospect Colston Loveland from their time at the University of Michigan.

Conklin has been a model of consistency over the last four years, most recently catching 51-of-67 targets for 449 yards and four touchdowns in 2024. Incumbent starter Will Dissly is a better blocker. Should the Chargers sign Conklin, he would ostensibly fight to be a low-end TE1 for fantasy purposes.