Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert’s New Secret Weapon

After becoming the Syracuse Orange’s all-time leader in receptions at the tight end position, Los Angeles drafted Gadsden with the No. 165 pick in the fifth round. Despite being a late-round pick, the rookie has turned heads throughout the preseason.

“With learning a new offense, new style of getting the plays, it's not like college where you're doing signals and all that. You have to listen to the quarterback and sometimes the quarterback is saying the plays and you might get lost trying to figure out some things while he's speaking. So walking through it, saying it to yourself out there on the field will definitely help slow it down.”Gadsden at rookie minicamp

The tight end also worked his way up to repetitions with the first-team offense during Chargers minicamp back in June. He impressed his teammates and coaches right off the bat with his work ethic, which included moving a week sooner than he needed to and arriving to practice early.

“He also has a smile on his face every day. Just the way he approaches it all, this guy is locked in and wants to learn, and he's so coachable,” tight ends coach Andy Bischoff said to the media at minicamp. “That's been from the minute we got off the phone on draft night.”

Bischoff also called Gadsden a “tell him one time guy.” His eagerness to be coached is part of what made him stand out early.

The Chargers are coming off a difficult 32-12 loss to the Houston Texans that ended their 2024 season in the Wild Card round. Herbert, who the team selected No. 6 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, finished ninth in passing yards, 12th in touchdowns, while only throwing three interceptions in the 2024 regular season.

The former Ducks star has shown steady improvements through his first five seasons in the league, including posting a career low in picks thrown last year. With the franchise heading into its second season under coach Jim Harbaugh, there’s a sense of urgency for the team to make it back to the postseason.

That involves strengthening Herbert’s supporting cast, which included drafting Gadsden.

Dating back to his time at Oregon, fans have wanted Herbert surrounded with more weapons. The former Duck threw 29 touchdowns in his junior year and 32 as a senior, leading the team to a Pac-12 Championship and Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin.

Los Angeles made moves at the running back position in the offseason, bringing in former Pittsburgh Steeler Najee Harris and drafting Omarion Hampton. They also brought in tight end Tyler Conklin and drafted wide receiver Tre Harris, while returning tight end Will Dissly and wideout Quentin Johnston.

ESPN currently predicts Gadsden to be the third-string tight end on the 2025 depth chart, sitting behind Dissly and Conklin. The fifth-round pick isn’t necessarily expected to see a large percentage of snaps as a rookie, but he could play himself into more time on the field if the connection with Herbert grows.