Omar Navarro
The Chargers made their first trade of the draft, sending Nos. 181 and 209 (both sixth-rounders) to Philadelphia for No. 165 and selecting tight endOronde Gadsden IIin the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Get all of your Bolts draft news at theChargers 2025 Draft Hub.
Here are five things to know about the Syracuse tight end:
1. Most productive TE in Orange history
Syracuse never saw a more productive player at the tight end position than Gadsden.
The tight end rewrote the school's record books, setting new marks for receptions and yards by a tight end after 141 catches for 1,970 yards across in 28 games.
He also boasts the program's top two individual seasons for receptions, a mark he broke twice in 2022 and in 2024.
Gadsden ended his career sixth in Syracuse history overall in career receiving yards per game averaging 55.3 per game and fifth in career receptions.
2. 2024 All-American
Gadsden's final season with the Orange was his best.
A First-Team All-ACC selection, he earned Third Team All-American honors after a Syracuse tight end single season record of 73 receptions. The mark was good for fourth-most by a tight end in the nation.
He took those receptions for 934 yards and seven touchdowns, as he ranked sixth among FBS tight ends with at least 50 targets in Pro Football Focus offense grade with a 82.6 (best in ACC).
3. Switching to TE
Gadsden might look like a natural at tight end, but it was his second position in college football.
He was recruited and spent his first season at Syracuse as a wide receiver, before switching to tight end ahead of the 2022 season.
And it paid off in a big way, as he exploded in the offense catching 61 passes for 969 yards and six touchdowns, leading all tight ends nationally in receiving yardage.
He even earned First-Team All-ACC honors in his first season at the position, setting the single-season record for receptions by a tight end, which he later broke again.
4. Two-time state champion
Attending American Heritage School in Florida, Gadsden spent his prep career as a wide receiver.
And he was coached former NFL All-Pro Patrick Surtain, who was the head coach during his time at the school.
Gadsden worked his way to becoming a three-star prospect and was a two-time state champion in Florida.
5. NFL bloodlines
Gadsden is now the second person in his family to make it to the pros.
His father, a former wide receiver, played six seasons in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins from 1998 to 2003.
The elder Gadsden caught 227 career passes for 3,252 yards and 22 touchdowns, and most notably caught Hall of Famer Dan Marino's final touchdown pass.
Gadsden's Pop Warner team featured former Dolphins players Sam Madison (head coach), Dan Marino (offensive coordinator) and Jason Taylor (defensive coordinator). Gadsden's father was an assistant coach.
