The Los Angeles Chargers selected Syracuse tight end Oronde Gadsden II in the fifth round of this year’s draft. The selection appeared as little more than a footnote on the NFL Draft scroller on ESPN and NFL Network. But suddenly, it seems the team may have gotten a major steal.
Gadsden was able to turn heads in a big way at the team’s mandatory minicamp last week and now, he’s drawing comparisons to NFL greats. Chargers tight ends coach Andy Bischoff, while addressing the media, compared Gadsden to former Pro-Bowl tight end Darren Waller.
Yes, that’s right.
After stating that Gadsden is “better than we thought” he was asked about his potential and he had this to say:
“I know it’s a huge pick, a huge forecast, but I mean I was fortunate to coach Darren Waller and Darren Waller was a receiver in college and we turned him into a tight end and he’s got some of those traits. It’s way early, way early, but he’s twitchy, he separates, he does some really good things in the pass game and I think as he has become more comfortable in our system in the last four or five days, I think people are beginning to see that”.
That is huge praise coming from a coach who has seen it and coached it. Gadsden, who began his career in college as a wide receiver and is the son of a former big-bodied wide receiver, could end up being much more valuable than anyone thought he could be.
The Chargers desperately needed a tight end in this draft. After failing to land any of the bigger names in the class, the Chargers settled on Gadsden with the No. 165 overall pick in the draft. That could turn out to be a massive bargain and he could be the answer the team was looking for.
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