Why Oronde Gadsden is a fantasy football TE sleeper in Week 4 for Chargers

Billy Heyen

Why Oronde Gadsden is a fantasy football TE sleeper in Week 4 for Chargers image

Don't forget the name Oronde Gadsden.

For that matter, it might be time to know the Los Angeles Chargers rookie tight end this week. He could be a fantasy football sleeper now and beyond, and he's available to pickup on basically every waiver wire.

The key here: Will Dissly is out for the second consecutive week.

A week ago, with Dissly out, Gadsden was targeted seven times. He caught five of them for 46 yards.

Gadsden will likely see a similar starter-level workload this week, and with the Chargers trusting Justin Herbert to air it out, it's not unreasonable to expect another five or so catches along with a chance to get some red zone work.

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A second-generation NFL player, Gadsden was a star at Syracuse. With the Orange in college, he was used a lot like a big wide receiver, splitting out to various parts of the formation. 

The Chargers have plenty of receivers, so they don't have to move the rookie around a ton, but his athleticism can shine through no matter where he is at the start of a play.

Gadsden is at least worth picking up right now for anyone with an open bench spot, or anyone in a keeper league. He showed in Week 3 that he likely has some high upside in his future. And given the Dissly injury, some of that upside might start showing up sooner rather than later.

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He's not quite Harold Fannin Jr., the Cleveland Browns' rookie tight end who caught a lot of attention right from the outset of this season.

But remember Gadsden's name, because soon enough, he could be a sneaky contributor, too.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle