Who Should I Start? Ja'Tavion Sanders or Oronde Gadsden

BENCH

Week 1 Projections

Fant. Pts.	Rush. Yds.	Rush TD	Rec.	Rec. Yds.	Rec TD
3.8	0.0	0.0	1.8	14.2	0.1

Ja'Tavion Sanders News

Ja'Tavion Sanders Suffers Ankle Injury on Tuesday

Tuesday, August 4, 9:35 AM

Carolina Panthers tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders (ankle) left Tuesday's training camp practice with an ankle injury, but head coach Dave Canales said he had a great day, according to Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer. It doesn't sound like Sanders suffered a serious injury, but we'll keep an eye on his status moving forward. The 23-year-old former fourth-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft from the University of Texas had a disappointing sophomore campaign in 2025, playing in only 13 regular-season games while catching 29 passes for 190 yards and one touchdown. Sanders had a 33-342-1 line in 16 games as a rookie, so he hasn't exactly moved the needle much in fantasy football early in his NFL career. Going into Year 3, Sanders is expected to be Carolina's primary pass-catching TE, but he also has to contend with both Tommy Tremble and Mitchell Evans. The Panthers' offense just hasn't relied enough on the TE position to make Sanders matter in most fantasy football leagues. Sanders is outside of RotoBaller's top-41 rankings at the position for 2026.

Oronde Gadsden - Los Angeles (TE)

START

Week 1 Projections

Fant. Pts.	Rush. Yds.	Rush TD	Rec.	Rec. Yds.	Rec TD
7.7	0.0	0.0	2.9	35.2	0.2

Oronde Gadsden News

Oronde Gadsden Listed as Co-Starter on First Unofficial Depth Chart

Monday, August 10, 6:38 AM

The Los Angeles Chargers released their first unofficial depth chart on Sunday ahead of Thursday's preseason opener against the Texans, and tight end Oronde Gadsden is listed as a co-starter along with both Charlie Kolar and David Njoku. The "or" designation is used throughout the lineup, including at running back where both Keaton Mitchell and Kimani Vidal are listed in the primary backup spot, but with the highest statistical upside of the tight end group, fantasy managers are likely looking for more signs of encouragement surrounding Gadsden after he spent much of the early offseason as a popular breakout candidate. The second-year tight end was candid in recent remarks to the media about needing to improve as a blocker, and with Kolar and Njoku both excelling in that area, Gadsden could be hard-pressed to make consistent contributions in 2026, and he enters the year as RotoBaller's TE20.

Ja'Tavion Sanders vs. Oronde Gadsden

Still trying to decide between Sanders and Gadsden? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Ja'Tavion Sanders is projected to score 3.8 points this week while Oronde Gadsden is projected to score 7.7 points.