Chargers TE Oronde Gadsden played just 10 offensive snaps vs. the Cardinals in Week 1. It didn't exactly come as surprise. On the Chargers' unofficial depth chart prior to the game last week, Gadsden was listed as a backup to both Charlie Kolar and David Njoku. He had firmly been TE3 throughout the preseason in terms of usage.
But this week presents a different opportunity. WR Ladd McConkey did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday. While he may still suit up for the game, the Chargers are in a position where they'll need to spread the ball out more to their other pass catchers. The non-McConkey wideouts put up 37 yards on 13 targets between Tre' Harris, Quentin Johnston, and Derius Davis. Gadsden and Njoku put up a combined 90 yards on seven targets vs. Arizona.
This is a chance for the Chargers to lean into TE Oronde Gadsden II as a big slot.
Chargers OC Mike McDaniel expressed regret about not playing the second-year Syracuse product more against Arizona:
"There's a lot of assets that you can use to attack a defense," McDaniel said. "Every defense reacts to personnel differently. The way the game went, I planned for him [Gadsden] to get more. But the way the game went, it didn't play out that way."
"I expected for him to get more. Game didn't play out," McDaniel explained. "Moving forward, this game in particular-we plan on utilizing his skillset. I would expect him to be more involved"
The Raiders were ninth in zone defense rate last week at 84.0%. Gadsden played five of his ten offensive snaps last week from the slot. Many of his best moments from his rookie season were attacking the soft spots in zone coverage. Without McConkey, Gadsden is probably the next best slot weapon the Chargers can utilize.
The three best non-McConkey receiving targets on the Chargers right now are in some order Quentin Johnston, Njoku, and Gadsden. Yes, it's a bit of an oversimplification depending on the look or formation the Chargers are playing out of-but put your best pass catchers on the field.
The concerns about Gadsden's blocking from the staff are understandable. To some degree, him being knocked down to TE3 temporarily makes sense until it improves. But in this scenario with McConkey out, that cannot hold them back from unleashing Gadsden this week. Every possible lever they can potentially pull without McConkey in the passing game needs to be utilized.
Gadsden put up the most receiving yards by a rookie tight end in Chargers' history. It was the fifteenth most receiving yards by a rookie tight end in NFL history. There's not that much depth to the wide receiver room at the moment. Don't overthink it-use him.
Add us as a preferred source on Google