For various reasons, there are a lot of people tuning into the Pittsburgh Steelers-LA Chargers Sunday Night Football showdown wondering who is going to find the endzone for six points. As far as the Chargers are concerned, the choice seems fairly obvious.
There are a lot of talented skill position players on the Chargers roster so it may seem like a shot in the dark picking one to find the back of the endzone. But against the Steelers specifically, there is one, somewhat lesser-known player, who stands above the rest.
Rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden II has instantly become a fan favorite for Chargers fans and may add to his legend against the Steelers. The stars are aligned for Gadsden to find the back of the endzone for six.
Why Oronde Gadsden is in a great position to be an anytime touchdown scorer for the Chargers
Justin Herbert is prone to feeding the hot hand and there is not a hotter hand on the roster than Gadsden. Plus, Gadsden is heading into a matchup that is favorable for tight ends.
Gadsden has emerged as one of the best rookies in the entire sport after the Chargers made him a healthy scratch to start the season. Over the last four weeks, Gadsden has caught 24 passes for 377 yards with two touchdowns. He's averaging six catches for 94 yards a game. He averages a touchdown every other game and didn't catch a touchdown last week.
Meanwhile, the Steelers have been one of the worst teams against tight ends this season. Pittsburgh has allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to tight ends this season, only beating out the Cincinnati Bengals.
Against the Indianapolis Colts, who rank two spots higher than the Steelers, Gadsden caught seven passes for 164 yards with a touchdown.
Mike Tomlin loves to run zone defense and Herbert has historically done very well against zone. While this will play into the strengths of Keenan Allen and Ladd McConkey as well, it will really benefit the tight end position. All Gadsden has to do is read the linebackers and sit in the soft areas of the zone. He's already shown a great ability to do so.
Gadsden isn't the first name you would think of as an anytime touchdown scorer for the Chargers, but the matchup is simply too favorable to ignore. Don't be surprised if Gadsden has a coming-out party on primetime and shows the rest of the NFL world what Chargers fans already know.