Oronde Gadsden's breakout campaign continues. The Chargers' rookie tight end added 61 yards on four catches Sunday to lead the team in receiving. QB Justin Herbert had an explosive 27 yard fastball throw to Gadsden that put the Chargers deep into the Kansas City's red zone.
Gadsden II now sits at 43 receptions, 602 yards and two touchdowns on the season. The yards and receptions marks are historic. Gadsden is now the franchise leader for yards and receptions by a rookie tight end. The Syracuse product passed Freddie Jones in receptions yesterday. Gadsden has also beaten Jones' 1997 mark of 505 by nearly 100 yards.
Oronde Gadsden II is a budding rookie superstar TE for the Chargers after his performance in Sunday's win over the Chiefs.
The new records snuck up quietly because Sunday was Gadsden's biggest offensive output in a while. The last time he had 60+ yards was against the Titans in Week 9. With the Chargers' passing offense having shrunk a bit in recent weeks, there's not quite as many yards to go around right now as there once was.
Gadsden still has more records that he can break in his rookie campaign. He's just 51 yards from surpassing Hunter Henry's 2019 yards figure (652). If he were to break that mark in the last three games, he'd have the most yards in a season by a Chargers TE since 2014 Antonio Gates (821).
It's a testament to GM Joe Hortiz that he was able to find so much receiver value in the 2025 NFL Draft. WR Tre' Harris made a big play on Sunday to get the Chargers into field goal range in the absence of Quentin Johnston.
KeAndre Lambert-Smith also got to play after a number of healthy scratches with injuries to both Johnston and KR/PR/WR Derius Davis. He made the most of it with an explosive kickoff return and his first NFL touchdown.
126 of the Chargers' 210 receiving yards yesterday came from their three rookies combined between Gadsden II, Harris, and Lambert-Smith.
Gadsden was PFF's highest graded offensive Charger of the game yesterday with a 90.7 grade. Amongst all NFL tight ends in Week 15, PFF only had Cardinals TE Trey McBride with a higher offensive mark of 92.3.
Once a fifth-round pick, Gadsden II has proven himself to be a significant part of the Chargers plans going forward after this season. And for the first time in decades, the potential ceiling for a young Chargers' tight end feels uncapped.