Tight End · Los Angeles Chargers · Age 23 · Syracuse · TE18 Half-PPR (Season 2026)
Oronde Gadsden is ranked TE18 (overall #173) for the Season of the 2026 NFL season in Half-PPR fantasy football by Hayden of The Underdog Football Show. Hayden has Oronde Gadsden ranked 26 spots lower than their Underdog ADP of 147.5, flagging this as an overvalued player.
Gadsden is a buy in dynasty, but his snaps are capped short term
Gadsden is too big to be an every-down WR, but he's too athletically gifted as a TE to not run deep routes. As a rookie, he was split out often and ran a ton of seam-based routes. His 8.9 average depth of target was 6th-highest at the position, and he only had 1% of his targets coming in the screen game. Gadsden had multiple spectacular grabs, fully capable of contorting his body at the catch point way off the ground. He's got a long build that fits great with Justin Herbert, who wants to drive the ball on a line to the middle and deep parts of the field. The Chargers were able to get him on run away routes at his mid-season peak, and on occasion, he showed breaking-route ability, too. His receiving tape is very real. From Weeks 6-11, Gadsden hovered around 75% snaps. He averaged 72 YPG during this stretch, on a solid 19% target share and TE7 expected points per game. Unfortunately, the fun game to an end after the Week 12 bye. Gadsden's snaps fell to just under 60% over the next 7 games, and his target share dropped to 12%, leading to just 27 YPG. This coincided with the Chargers OT injuries, but there were also splits with/without Quentin Johnston and Keenan Allen. The depth of the Chargers offense remains an issue. Allen is unlikely to return, but the additions of superior blockers David Njoku and Charlie Kolar put a cap on Gadsden's snap rate. New OC Mike McDaniels is a stud, but he also uses multiple RBs and a FB, too. It won't be a surprise if Gadsden has quality per-route numbers. That only matters so much in fantasy football though. We're chasing total routes. Gadsden is a tier above Njoku as a receiver and remains the favorite for production at TE. I just doubt it's enough to be an upside TE2 until injuries or depth chart changes occur. I'd be buying low on Gadsden in dynasty about a month into 2026, as his receiving tape and long-term attachment with Herbert is too good to ignore. Even in dynasty, Gadsden has an uphill battle to overcome his bad blocking tape. He was nearly unplayable on run downs last year due to his lack of strength and assignment clarity. He's on the Mike Gesicki and Darren Waller spectrum of TEs.
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Hayden is a fantasy football analyst for The Underdog Football Show, covering 2026 fantasy football with PPR and Half-PPR rankings, ADP comparisons, and weekly start/sit analysis. Rankings are updated regularly throughout the season. Hayden's "Best Bet" designations highlight players ranked higher than their ADP consensus, while "Fade" designations flag players the ranker believes are overvalued by the market.
By Hayden · The Underdog Football Show · Updated 2026-07-06