The Los Angeles Chargers were in desperate need of a tight end and after waiting until the fifth round to draft one, they may have found a real steal for the future.
Oronde Gadsden II was the team's pick at No. 165 and he is a player that had a much higher draft projection at one time during his college career. The team has tight ends who can block, namely Will Dissly, and now they have one who is a former wide receiver who can act as the 'move' tight end.
Gadsden is a big target with a tremendous catch radius and will be perfect as a red-zone threat early on in his career. He runs a sophisticated route tree and can win jump balls at the point of attack. He doesn't have the best change-of-direction speed and won't break off a lot of long runs, but he can do enough to be an extra target in the passing game on third-and-long to help keep possessions alive.
He caught 143 passes for 2,000 yards and 14 touchdowns in his college career. Though bigger numbers were expected out of him, he is only 21 years old (22 in June) and the hope will be that he has yet to come close to reaching his ceiling.
His father, Oronde Gadsden, played for the Miami Dolphins for six seasons and caught 227 passes for 3,252 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Gadsden II joins a tight end room that includes Dissly, Tyler Conklin, Tucker Fisk, McCallan Castles and Jordan Petaia. Despite the selection of Gadsden, this will still be seen as a weak spot on this roster.
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