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With the 165th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Los Angeles Chargers select
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Tight end
Oronde Gadsden II, Syracuse
At 6-foot-5 and 243 pounds, Gadsden is basically a wide receiver in a tight end's body. He catches everything. Gadsden had 73 receptions for 934 yards and seven TDs last season. Forty-six of those catches went for first downs, and 19 of them came on contested plays. He missed most of the 2023 season with a foot injury, but he produced back in 2022, too, with 969 receiving yards.
It doesn't matter if the ball is throw high, low, off target, whatever ... he's likely going to bring it in. But blocking will be a question mark in his evaluation. Gadsden needs to get stronger and play with more physicality when aligning in-line and taking on pass rushers.
Projection: His father, Oronde Gadsden, played receiver for the Dolphins from 1998 to 2003. He went undrafted, but his son looks like an early-Day-3-pick to me. I actually have him ranked with my H-backs right now, second on that list behind Bowling Green's Harold Fannin Jr.
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Typo, Syracuse not SyracureComment
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The BEAST:
All tight ends
te8
NOT RANKED IN TOP 100
LAC
RD
5
PK
27 Oronde Gadsden II
Syracuse
HT
6′5″
WT
241
YR
4JR
AGE
21.83
Jump to:
Overview
Strengths
Weaknesses
Background
Stats Overview
hometown
Fort Lauderdale, FL
high school
Heritage
birthday
June 25, 2003
jersey
#19
A two-year starter at Syracuse, Gadsden was a joker tight end in offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon’s pro-spread system (58.3 percent of his snaps aligned in the slot, 32.6 percent inline, 8.7 percent wide in 2024). A wide receiver when he enrolled, Gadsden transitioned to a hybrid tight end role as a sophomore and had the two most productive seasons (2022, 2024) for a tight end in school history (with a season-ending injury in between, in 2023). Like his father, who played in the NFL for several seasons,
Gadsden is the type of target who doesn’t require his quarterback to be perfect because of the way he uses his frame, focus and long arms to pull in throws. Though he has functional athleticism as a route runner, his setup and pacing are still in the developmental phase. I was expecting more after the catch, too (just 27.5 percent of his yards in 2024 came with the ball in his hands, one of the lowest rates in the FBS). As a blocker, he gives quality effort and can get in the way, but he won’t consistently move defenders at the point of attack in the run game. Overall, Gadsden is an athletic pass catcher with the adjustment skills and catch radius to be a possession target in an NFL offense, although his average frame and marginal ability to sustain blocks create questions about his role. He projects best as an F tight end who can be flexed across the formation and should continue to get better.
grade4th Round Testing
Glossarycombine 6045 243 10″ 333/8″ 815/8″ DNP DNP DNP 34″ 9′6″ DNP DNP DNP No 40, SS, three-cone, bench (choice) pro day 6045 241 10″ 335/8″ 831/8″ 4.65 2.73 1.62 341/2″ 9′9″ DNP DNP 19
Back to top Strengths- Tall, rangy athlete who has worked hard to add bulk
- Terrific hand strength to finish catches through contact
- Coordinated body control to locate and adjust to throws mid-route
- Ranked second in 2024 among FBS tight ends with 17 contested catches
- Foot quickness helps him enter routes and create separation out of breaks
- Displays overall movement skills of former wide receiver
- Responsible for 16 catches of 20 yards or more in 2024 (fourth most among FBS tight ends)
- Willing positional blocker — can get in the way and seal off
- At best as backside run blocker or on the move
- Most productive tight end in Syracuse history
Back to top Weaknesses- Doesn’t have desired frame or body mass for the position
- Relies more on athleticism than pacing or technique in route stems
- Marginal after-the-catch threat with ball in his hands
- Not the type of ball carrier who will frequently run through tackles
- Needs to continue developing football-playing strength to sustain (never lined up inline until 2024)
- Works to keep hands tight and chop feet but not a people mover in run game
- Lisfranc injury in right foot (Sept. 2023), which required season-ending surgery
Back to top Background
Oronde Gadsden II, who has a younger sister (Gabby), was born and raised in South Florida with his parents (Oronde and Bianke). Oronde Gadsden was an undrafted free-agent wide receiver out of Winston-Salem State in 1995 and signed with the Dallas Cowboys (won Super Bowl XXX). He bounced between teams and won Rookie of the Year honors in the AFL before finding a home with the Miami Dolphins (1998-2003). He finished with 3,252 receiving yards before he was forced to retire because of injuries. Oronde Gadsden II grew up around the game of football in Davie, Fla. (home of the Dolphins’ training facility), and he started playing for the Pop Warner Davie Broncos, which had an NFL player-led coaching staff that included head coach Sam Madison, offensive coordinator Dan Marino, defensive coordinator Jason Taylor and his father, who was an assistant. Gadsden played both ways and helped lead the team to the AYFL Championship in 2014. He also played lacrosse throughout childhood, initially for the Barracudas before playing club lacrosse for the Florida Surge.
Gadsden enrolled at American Heritage School, a private college prep school, where his head coach all four seasons was former NFL Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Surtain. As a freshman, Gadsden was part of a team that finished 14-0, won the 2017 state championship and boasted future NFL draft picks Patrick Surtain II, Tyson Campbell, Dallas Turner and Anthony Schwartz on its roster. As a wide receiver and safety, Gadsden finished his junior season with 21 receptions for 428 yards and six touchdowns, as American Heritage went 10-2, falling to Miami Northwestern in the 2019 5A state playoffs. As a senior captain, he posted 16 catches for 180 yards and seven touchdowns and helped the program to the 2020 5A state title (the fifth in school history), including a touchdown catch in the championship game. Gadsden also lettered in track at American Heritage and had personal bests of 11.84 seconds in the 100 meters, 53.24 in the 400, 16.61 in the 110-meter hurdles and 40.42 in the 300-meter hurdles.
A three-star recruit, Gadsden was the 146th-ranked wide receiver in the 2021 recruiting class and the No. 129 recruit in Florida. His recruitment started to take off during his junior season, and he finished with more than 20 scholarship offers. Gadsden narrowed his final choice to four programs: Arizona State, Penn State, South Florida and Syracuse. Early in his senior season, he committed to Syracuse, mostly because of his relationship with the coaching staff (specifically, his primary recruiter, Nick Monroe, who’s now the co-defensive coordinator at Minnesota). Gadsden was the 10th-ranked recruit in former head coach Dino Babers’ 2021 class. He signed as a wide receiver before moving to hybrid tight end in his second season. Gadsden skipped his final season to enter the NFL Draft. He accepted his invitation to the East-West Shrine Bowl.
Back to top Stats
Receiving
Notes & Awards2021 Syracuse 8 0 2 24 12.00 0 0 2022 Syracuse 13 13 61 969 15.89 6 4 2023 Syracuse 2 2 7 67 9.57 1 0 2024 Syracuse 13 13 73 934 12.79 7 3 Total 36 28 143 1,994 13.94 14 7
Glossary2021 Syracuse Missed four games (injury); enrolled July 2021 2022 Syracuse First Team All-ACC; led all FBS TEs in receiving yards; led team in receiving; moved from WR to TE 2023 Syracuse Redshirted; missed final 11 games (right foot) 2024 Syracuse First Team All-ACC
Back to top
Oronde Gadsden II
HAMMER TIME
(can't touch him)Comment
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Welcome home OG.HAMMER TIME
(can't touch him)Comment
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Mike Gesicki 2.0
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Absolutely LOVE this pick...never thought he was on our radar...clearly still getting to know Jim...
Just floored...best contested catch TE in the country, if I remember right...Lone Bolt's Final Mock
Tyler Booker G, Josaiah Stewart Edge, Cam Skattebo RB, Mitchell Evans TE, Jamaree Caldwell NT, Isaac TeSlaa WR, Ahmed Hassanein DE, Craig Woodson S, Eli Cox C, Kalel Mullings RB
Sleeper day 3 pick: Tahj Brooks RB Texas Tech
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We talked months ago about how cool I’d be to get this guy but that he just doesn’t fit Roman. Well, wrong on that!!Originally posted by Lone Bolt View Post
Awesome pick.Comment
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Had a 5th rnd grade ranked #146 in Draft countdown so another great value at 165.Comment
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Man so the JHs saw one year of Herbert with bad weapons outside of Ladd and said no more!Comment
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I think Roman is evolving his offense to account for the fact that Herbert is not a running QB. 2 bellcow power backs who are extremely well versed in the passing game. Both durable so we dont miss a beat running the ball. A gap monster in Becton. And big fast guys that Herbert can elevate passes to like a Guard would do with a power forward on an alley oop type stuff with Gadsen and MW. Big catch radius. I think they may be revising their vision of Herbert after last seasons WR pick ups. That didnt quite work out other than Ladd. Herbert loves the contested catch types. So we spreading a wide net in this draft.Originally posted by Jack Burton View PostComment
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