Oronde Gadsden — Week 1: Twenty-Six Yards, Then One Yard Short
2026 NFL Season · Half-PPR Scoring · Monday, Sep 14
Gadsden caught both of his targets for 32 yards: a 26-yard catch-and-run to the Arizona 21 with 4:37 left in the second quarter, worth plus 8.2 points of win probability, and a six-yard catch on fourth and seven with 2:00 left that came up a yard short. David Njoku was targeted five times, in a 26–14 loss to the Cardinals.
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10 to seven, Cardinals, four 37 left in the second quarter, second and eight at the Arizona 47. Justin Herbert threw short left to Oronde Gadsden, who was pushed out of bounds at the Arizona 21, 26 yards. +2.1 expected points added — expected points added is what a play was worth given down, distance and field position — and 8.2 points of win probability, the chance of winning the game after the play against before it, second among Chargers passes and runs only to Ladd McConkey's third-quarter touchdown. The possession got to first and goal at the seven and ended with Herbert sacked on fourth and three at the three.
The line: two targets, two catches, 32 yards, one first down, +0.3 expected points on the targets, one before halftime and one after. The second came with two minutes left in the fourth quarter: fourth and seven at the Chargers 38, down 26 to 14, short left to Gadsden for six yards to the 44, one yard short of the line, −1.8 expected points, turnover on downs. Both catches were short left; nothing went to him on third down, and nothing went to him between the second quarter and the final two minutes. 25 of his 32 yards came after the catch.
Two targets were fifth on the team. Herbert threw seven times to McConkey, six each to Quentin Johnston and Tre Harris, five to David Njoku, two to Gadsden and one to Derius Davis, none without a receiver. Between the tight ends it was Njoku five targets, five catches, 58 yards, three first downs, and Gadsden two, two, 32, one; Njoku's targets came out at −0.3 expected points, Gadsden's at +0.3. The Chargers threw 10 pass plays before halftime and 20 after, and Gadsden's one second-half target was the fourth-down throw.
Back in June the preview made no call on Gadsden — the eighteenth tight end at pick one 42, priced dead on a rookie season that finished seventeenth at the position, with the new coordinator's scheme priced at zero, and the caveat that if the Njoku split tilted his way the price would look quaint. The thing to watch was the split with Njoku. Sunday it tilted the other way, five targets to two, though the two included the second most valuable pass or run the Chargers had. One game does not decide a tight-end split, and this one did not go the way the caveat hoped. The Chargers are home to the Raiders on Sunday the twentieth. The number to watch is five against two.
_Data via nflverse._
When Oronde Gadsden's week moves the numbers, you'll know — every episode, in one weekly email.
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