Oronde Gadsden’s fingerprints were very much on the 2025 fantasy football season as he provided a window of production that few thought possible during his first NFL season. With a year of reps under his belt and a role that is likely to increase, what does the ceiling look like for Gadsden in Year 2, and why is his ADP not reflective of it?
Should You Draft Oronde Gadsden in Fantasy Football?
Am I missing something here?
Gadsden converted from receiver to tight end while in college, and it was obvious that he’s spent the majority of his life making plays with the ball in his hands during his impressive rookie campaign. He spiked at the NFL combine in a variety of ways (from gauntlet speed to arm length), and he wasted no time in terms of turning spreadsheet stars into NFL yards.
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Gadsden rattled off four straight TE1 finishes from Weeks 6-9 as a rookie, a stretch in which he was the 112th most valuable Flex player (PPR) in our game, ahead of names like Chase Brown and Amon-Ra St. Brown in raw points.
Every TE not named Trey McBride stood behind him in PPG for that month, and given the isolation of his environment, I can’t figure out the lack of hype around him relative to other young players at the position (I don’t think the May signing of David Njoku is enough to explain the tepid expectations).
Rookie Colston Loveland
- 70.7% catch rate
- 1.86 yards per route
- 9.5-yard aDOT
- 6 end zone targets
Rookie Gadsden
- 71% catch rate
- 1.66 yards per route
- 9.4-yard aDOT
- 6 end zone targets
The target earning isn’t a newfound skill that I expect to regress; he did it for two of his healthy seasons at Syracuse, and I’m not too worried about the target competition from his teammates.
I’m a Ladd McConkey fan and think we see more stability from him this season than last, but after that? Quentin Johnston has told us what he is on an annual basis, Tre’ Harris had just two games last season with more than three receptions, and Keandre Lambert-Smith is an unknown.
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Charlie Kolar doesn’t offer much competition at the position, and while there are breakout options at the WR position, I’m very comfortable labeling Gadsden as the second most reliable pass catcher (WR/TE) in a well-above-average offense with their franchise QB in place.
Isn’t that the dream profile at a cost that is well outside of the top 12 tight ends?
There’s a strong case if the opportunity falls into his lap, but based on usage this summer, that might be more of a midseason happening than anything you need to worry about on draft day.
Gadsden’s Dynasty Fantasy Football Value
The dynasty case for him over players like Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews is easy based on age alone, but I have him ranked above them for this season.
Gadsden is in a stable setting with his best football ahead of him and a schedule that demands this team be aggressive on the offensive side of the ball (outside of the strong division, they face Drake Maye, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Matthew Stafford, never mind the reigning Super Bowl champions and one of the premier offensive minds of a generation in Kyle Shanahan).
Gadsden turned 23 years old this summer and checks every box you could ask for. I have him ranked in the Tucker Kraft range of long-term prospects at the position, and that seems to be an outlier based on where the rest of the industry has settled.
That’s fine by me.
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In fact, it’s better than fine. That means in start-up dynasty formats, I can “reach” for him relative to my draft room and still come in at (or even below) where I think he stands in the hierarchy of the position. In established dynasty leagues, this allows me to pick up value in the trade market and give my team a boost in both the short and long term.
No, I don’t think Gasden offers a Trey McBride-like season in 2026. He probably never has that sort of season in his career. But based on the current perception of him, his ROI math makes way too much sense not to at least explore the options in your league.
