It had been a quiet first couple of weeks in Oronde Gadsden’s first NFL regular season as he was a healthy inactive in each of the first two games for the Chargers.
But with fellow tight end Will Dissly nursing a knee injury on a short week, the fifth rounder was told he was going to be given an opportunity for his NFL debut in Week 3.
Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh could tell Gadsden was more than ready for it — and his play on the field Sunday afternoon backed that up.
"When I told him in the beginning of the week, 'Oronde, you're up, you're playing, go have it,'" Harbaugh said on Wednesday. "There was the really good look in the eye.
"The kind of competitor he is, he wanted that," Harbaugh added.
Gadsden played an important role in the offense against the Broncos hauling in five receptions, three of which went for first downs, for 46 yards in the comeback victory.
Even though he only played 26 percent of the snaps on Sunday, he ran 15 routes, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, and produced 3.1 yards per route run, good for third highest among qualified tight ends in Week 3.
He also finished the week with the third-highest Pro Football Focus receiving grade (87.9) among tight ends with at least five targets.
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The rookie tight end stayed patient knowing his time would come, and was ready to go whenever that would be.
"I always knew I would go in at some point," Gadsden said. "The first two weeks I wasn't active, then that third week came up and Coach Harbaugh told me I would be in.
"I was ready to step up and not give up the spot," Gadsden added.
Gadsden flashed the receiving ability he displayed throughout the offseason, both getting himself open over the middle and making some contested catches as well.
He impressed Harbaugh as well, as he showed it all off in an all-around performance.
"He got out there and makes the tough catch on the boundary, contested catches, challenging-type catches, two on the field goal drive," Harbaugh said. "Ran a really good route and caught a tough ball with guys swiping at it, in between two guys he's catching a slant.
"His blocking was good, too, in a good place to ascend from," Harbaugh added.
Even it being his first regular-season game, Gadsden's rapport with quarterback Justin Herbert looked as if the two had played a lot together.
His seven targets were tied for the third-most on the afternoon, with Herbert even targeting him on the first two plays of the game-winning field goal drive which went for 15 yards.
After not seeing many throws from the quarterback over the last couple of weeks, the rookie said he made it his mission to gain some of Herbert's trust in the practices leading up to the game."
"The first three weeks preparing for Kansas City and the Raiders, I wasn't active so I wasn't really getting any passes with him at all," Gadsden said. "Going into the week, just catching every ball that was throwing at me.
"Just giving him some trust that in the game I was going to be open and if I'm open, you could look at me and throw it to me," he added.
It paid off in a big way, as he delivered in his first taste of NFL regular season action.
"Same thing he's done since camp, he's made plays and he's picked up the offense really quickly. And he's a guy that you can trust out there," Herbert said on Wednesday. "You can throw him out there as a rookie and the scene isn't too big for him, and it's been really good to see from him.
"He's going out there, competing," Herbert added. "He wants to be great and you can tell when he steps on that practice field that he's very focused, dialed in and doing everything he can to be the best tight end that he can be."
The rookie staying ready, even with no action early, paid dividends in Week 3 and helped push the Bolts to a win.
And his performance was also something Harbaugh said has earned him some more action moving forward.
"It just really shows you, if you don't like where you're at on the depth chart today, you can change that today and tomorrow," Harbaugh said. "And he did that. He's going to be in there more, and he earned that."
Harbaugh later added: "I just had the feeling, been to this movie a few times, that there's more good to come."
