{"id":491699,"date":"2025-11-01T11:26:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T11:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/491699\/"},"modified":"2025-11-01T11:26:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T11:26:15","slug":"chargers-rookie-tight-end-oronde-gadsden-ii-living-up-to-the-hype","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/491699\/","title":{"rendered":"Chargers rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden II living up to the hype"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tre\u2019 Harris<\/a> watched as Oronde Gadsden II<\/a> burst by him, the 6-foot-5 tight end chugging over the turf at Golden West College\u2019s football field.<\/p>\n

Months before Harris and Gadsden suited up as Chargers<\/a> rookies, the duo were catching passes from Jaxson Dart<\/a> \u2014 now the starting quarterback for the New York Giants \u2014 during pre-NFL Scouting Combine training sessions at the Huntington Beach community college as the trio took advantage of sunny weather in Southern California.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw his talents immediately,\u201d Dart said of Gadsden. \u201cSkill set-wise, I thought he was a very unique athlete, being, you know, the stature that he is. I thought his footwork was some of the best that I\u2019ve seen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the past two weeks, the footwork that Harris said separates Gadsden from the rest of the NFL, has been on display.<\/p>\n

Gadsden, 22, ranks fifth in NFL tight end receiving yards this season (385) despite not playing in the first two games. Two weeks ago, against the Colts, the son of former NFL wide receiver Oronde Gadsden<\/a> emerged for 164 receiving yards and a touchdown. Against the Vikings last week, the former Syracuse standout, who set the program record for receptions in a season with 73 catches, recorded another 77 receiving yards and a touchdown.<\/p>\n

Those accomplishments \u2014 which he credits to studying the likes of Chargers teammates Keenan Allen<\/a> and Will Dissly<\/a> \u2014 earned Gadsden earned NFL Rookie of the Week honors in Week 7, the first Charger to claim the award since Asante Samuel Jr. did it twice in 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been good, getting in passes with Justin<\/a> [Herbert<\/a>], whether it\u2019s a practice, and then following up in the game,\u201d Gadsden said. \u201cIt feels good to see all the hard work that I\u2019ve been doing, all the hard work that the whole team has been doing, come forward and translate into the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Chargers <\/p>\n

Chargers tight end Oronde Gadsden II (86) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 23.<\/p>\n

(Gregory Bull \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Jim Harbaugh<\/a> can\u2019t help but smile when talking about Gadsden. Asked about the Chargers\u2019 rookies \u2014 and the efforts they\u2019ve put in to keep the team afloat amid a rash of injuries \u2014 the usually stoic Chargers coach remarked about how wide his grin was before slamming his hands down onto the podium in front of him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, Oronde Gadsden,\u201d he said, \u201cof course, has been great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herbert added: \u201cIt was only a matter of time until he put together two games like he has back-to-back, and he\u2019s gonna make a ton of plays for us. He\u2019s gonna have a super long career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gadsden had his first opportunity to relax during the mini bye week in the 10-day gap between the Chargers\u2019 win over the Vikings<\/a> and their game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. He said it\u2019s been non-stop football for him since the beginning of his senior year at Syracuse; from the college season to pre-draft training, rookie mini camp, and now the NFL season.<\/p>\n

\"Chargers <\/p>\n

Chargers tight end Oronde Gadsden II tries to fight off Miami Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks during a Chargers\u2019 win on Oct.12.<\/p>\n

(Rebecca Blackwell \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

For the first time since those training sessions at Golden West, Gadsden decided to visit Disneyland. It was a rare break for Gadsden since his daily pre-draft days working alongside trainer T.J. Houshmandzadeh<\/a>, the former Pro Bowl wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals.<\/p>\n

What makes Gadsden a special player, Harris said, is his never-stop attitude. During minicamp, Gadsden would arrive at the facility at 5 a.m. \u2014 using his East Coast-wired clock to his advantage to get extra work in.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not gonna say I knew he was gonna do this,\u201d Harris said of Gadsden\u2019s recent success, before pausing. \u201cThere\u2019s not a lot of tight ends that can move like he does. And, you know, I\u2019ve seen it firsthand.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tre\u2019 Harris watched as Oronde Gadsden II burst by him, the 6-foot-5 tight end chugging over the turf…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":491700,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2064],"tags":[79991,11508,241,14290,7,8500,853,79992,3519,1389,13,1014,262,2444,2443,6,2028,189,1287,1549,1285],"class_list":{"0":"post-491699","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-chargers","8":"tag-6-foot-5-tight-end","9":"tag-advantage","10":"tag-chargers","11":"tag-chargers-rookie","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-gadsden","14":"tag-game","15":"tag-golden-west-college","16":"tag-harris","17":"tag-herbert","18":"tag-jaxson-dart","19":"tag-los-angeles","20":"tag-los-angeles-chargers","21":"tag-losangeles","22":"tag-losangeleschargers","23":"tag-nfl","24":"tag-oronde-gadsden-ii","25":"tag-season","26":"tag-touchdown","27":"tag-week","28":"tag-yard"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115474201739907534","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=491699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/491700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=491699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=491699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=491699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}