Jim Harbaugh secured another victory with the Chargers, thanks in part to Oronde Gadsden II, who scored a touchdown and hauled in 77 receiving yards during the game. Gadsden showed excellent chemistry with Justin Herbert and earned high praise from the head coach.
Harbaugh couldnāt hide his amazement about Gadsden, commending not just his on-field performance but also his maturity beyond his years. āThe thing that strikes me the most is he plays like heās been playing in the NFL for two, three, four years,ā Harbaugh said. āWell coached into him and well parented into Oronde ā bodes well for the Chargers,ā he added.
Through seven weeks of his first NFL season, Gadsden has quickly become one of Herbertās most reliable targets. The young TE has totaled 385 yards and two touchdowns on 27 receptions, averaging 14.3 yards per catch. His breakout performance came against the Colts, where he exploded for 164 yards, showing flashes of a future star.
āAs soon as he got here for camp, we knew he was going to be pretty good. He made a ton of plays, picked up the offense really quickly, found a way to get open. And thatās what he did tonight,ā Herbert said about his teammate. āWeāre definitely going to get him the ball as much as we can because good things happen when he gets it.ā
Gadsden is Growing Non-Stop
Among all the receivers the Chargers have, Gadsden is quickly climbing toward the top spot in the receiving yards category as a tight end. With 385 yards so far, he sits in fourth place in that category, trailing Allen, McConkey, and Johnston, all of whom have over 400 yards. At his current pace, he is likely to reach the top spot this season.
As for yards averaged per reception, Gadsden is the third-best on the team with 14.3, making him one of only three players to surpass a 10+ yards average. Although he currently has only 27 receptions on 33 targets, that number is likely to increase significantly, just as Herbert stated they plan to throw him the ball more often.
