Oronde Gadsden had been getting better and better since debuting a month ago.
But the Chargers rookie tight end took it up another level in Week 7 — and took home some hardware in the process.
Gadsden was voted the Pepsi Zero Sugar Rookie of the Week after winning the vote following his big performance on Sunday. After the regular season, six players will be nominated for Pepsi Zero Sugar NFL Rookie of the Year honors.
Gadsden had a historic day at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, hauling in seven passes for 164 yards and a touchdown as he set a plethora of records.
The list of accolades runs long as his 164 receiving yards were the fourth-most ever by a rookie tight end in a game in NFL history and the most by a Chargers tight end since Antonio Gates in 2009.
Gadsden also became the third rookie tight end in the Super Bowl era with at least 150 receiving yards and a touchdown reception in a game. And he was the first Chargers tight end in franchise history with 100 receiving yards since 2019 when Hunter Henry hit the mark against the Steelers.
"He got a lot of opportunities and man, he played a great game," Chargers Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman said. "We've been seeing it, it's been coming.
"I thought that was definitely a breakout game for him," Roman added. "I think we all saw that."
Gadsden displayed it all in his first career 100-yard game and found himself open time and time again since being active.
"I think he did an incredible job," quarterback Justin Herbert said after the game. "He found ways to get open and when we needed him most, he stepped up big time.
"He's done a great job all year and he's going to continue to make big plays for us," Herbert added.
Gadsden hauled in gains of 22 and 30 yards before exploding for a career-long, 53-yard catch and run on the Chargers first pass attempt of the third quarter.
He posted the second-best yards per route run among all tight ends in Week 7 with 3.42 and led the position with an average depth of target of 11.4 among those with at least five targets.
The Chargers fifth-round pick continues to earn Herbert and the offense's trust as the weeks progress.
"Whenever he's been looking for me, I've been a reliable target for him," Gadsden said after the game. "I just want to be able to be a guy he could trust and when throws the ball, I'll be able to catch it.
"That's really it. Yards after catch, I want to be able to catch the ball whenever he throws it to me," Gadsden added.
Perhaps what's been most impressive about Gadsden so far is the rookie's ability to line up just about anywhere.
Just this past week against the Colts, he had 26 snaps in the slot, 16 as the in-line tight end and 10 out wide.
It's far from a coincidence, according to Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh, as he said it was easy to tell early on the rookie would do everything he could to improve.
"I just go back to training camp when we could see the talent, we could see all that but the talent and just how driven he was, that showed up when he got here," Harbaugh said Tuesday.
Harbaugh later added: "It's there. Just a lot of drive and talent."
It's one of the biggest things that has separated the rookie tight end as he continues to gain more and more experience as his snap count rises.
"I go back to this guy's approach, what he's made of, how he approaches every single day just trying to get better, highly competitive, highly detailed and wants to round out his game as much as possible," Roman said. "He's a strong dude, he's just never been asked to block before but he's getting better and better. He'll be a really good blocker.
"We're throwing him more in there for that. big game [against the Colts] for him, really made a big impact for the team," Roman added. "He's just a guy that's going to get better and better."
Gadsden has now amassed 308 receiving yards, a total that ranks fourth among all rookies, in just five games and now ranks ninth in his position overall.
After being inactive to start the year, he's made the most of his opportunities and turned into a serious weapon for the Chargers passing game.
"Any receiving position, you just have to catch the ball first and let everything else come after," Gadsden said. "Just working on catching the ball any time it comes to me, no matter who's throwing it."
