Oronde

Gadsden II

Justin Herbert gave Gadsden a chance to get going downfield early on, but the pass clanged off his hands. The incompletion may ultimately have been erased by a penalty. Herbert looked his way again later, on the Chargers’ late two-point conversion attempt, but it failed. Charlie Kolar, meanwhile, caught 3-of-3 targets for 31 yards and rushed once for three yards. Neither player needs to be rostered in 12-team formats.

Gadsden led LA tight ends in targets and trailed only Ladd McConkey in receiving yards on the day. Operating as a big slot receiver, Gadsden could have some fantasy value if he were to get more snaps and routes in the Chargers offense. In Week 9 against the Texans he’ll be a decent streaming option.

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.

Gadsden did make a spectacular catch on fourth down to set up a touchdown, but oustide of that, the tight end — while finishing tied for the most catches on the day with Keaton Mitchell — was unable to find any room against the Seahawks’ defense. The 23-year-old was more involved than he has been in previous weeks, but that’s less compliment to this effort than insult to the first few. He’ll be back at it in Week 5 against another tough defense in the Broncos.

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.