NFL draft: Chargers find more help for Justin Herbert on Day 3

Staff Writer

April 26, 2025 Updated 7:33 PM PT

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In a living room packed with friends and family, KeAndre Lambert-Smith waited. The Auburn wide receiver waited while he heard friends’ names called. He waited through anxious commercial breaks. The wait was so long that when he answered his phone, he couldn’t muster any of the tears he expected he’d have.

It was only pure joy to be drafted.

“I don’t care what round, I don’t know what pick it was,” the Chargers’ fifth-round pick said Saturday on a videoconference, “I just know I’m an L.A. Charger.”

The Chargers wrapped up their draft with nine total picks, balanced with five on offense and four on defense to address needs across the board.

Prioritizing skill positions to support quarterback Justin Herbert, the Chargers added Lambert-Smith and tight end Oronde Gadsden II with the 158th and 165th picks, respectively, on Saturday to go with first-round running back Omarion Hampton and second-round receiver Tre Harris.

“Guys we brought in, they’re competitors, ultimate competitors,” assistant general manager Chad Alexander said. “We added speed, we added toughness. … We prioritized those core values: the toughness, great teammates, high football IQ, speed, versatility, and those guys are going to come in and help us.”

Lambert-Smith, who began his college career at Penn State, had 981 yards receiving and eight touchdowns on 50 catches for Auburn last season. Before transferring, he was the only Penn State player in history with multiple 80-yard receptions.

After they fought the urge to trade up in the second round to pick a receiver, the Chargers made a move up to grab Gadsden. They gave up the 181st pick and a compensatory sixth-round selection (209th overall) to the Philadelphia Eagles to take the most prolific tight end in Syracuse history.

Gadsden set the single-season Syracuse record for receptions by a tight end with 73 last year, ranking fourth in his position nationally. After shifting from wide receiver, where he played as a freshman, the 6-foot-5, 236-pound prospect claimed program records for career receptions (141) and receiving yards (1,970) by a tight end.

Syracuse tight end Oronde Gadsden II celebrates after scoring against Ohio in August.

Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz praised Gadsden’s vertical presence in the middle of the field, but the prospect was quick to recognize that he still has work to do to have an influence as a blocker as he progresses at a relatively new position.

“You always want to be the best you can, you want to get to the Hall of Fame, you want to be one of the greats, that’s what you want to do,” Gadsden said. “So I’m great in the pass game and I’m going to continue to progress in the run game so I can be a complete tight end.”

The Chargers loaded up on passing options for Herbert but added only one offensive lineman, waiting until the sixth round to select Pittsburgh’s Branson Taylor at No. 199. The 6-6, 330-pound prospect played exclusively at tackle for the Panthers, but the Chargers project him as a possible solution at guard. The team’s interior offensive line has been a major question mark since Herbert was sacked four times and hit nine times in a wild-card loss to Houston last season.

On defense, the Chargers continued the makeover of their edge-rushing room with fourth-round pick Kyle Kennard. The 125th pick was the Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year last season at South Carolina with a conference-leading 11 ½ sacks, and he will join a position group led by 34-year-old Khalil Mack.

The Chargers bolstered the secondary late in the draft by adding safety RJ Mickens from Clemson with the 214th pick and Florida defensive back Trikweze Bridges at No. 256.

As the end of the draft crept closer, Bridges started shifting his focus more toward potentially just finding the best fit through free agency. Even Kennard, who was chosen in the fourth round, had doubts whether he would hear his name.

The outside linebacker celebrated when his friends were selected, but at a weekend-long draft party in Atlanta that grew smaller and smaller with each passing day, he quietly started to worry more every time a name passed that wasn’t his.

The emotional whiplash was a “wild roller-coaster ride,” Kennard said.

But he’s ready to prove why he was worth the wait.

“Teams definitely will have to pay for that,” Kennard said.

DJ Uiagalelei leads undrafted free agents

Florida State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei throws at the Seminoles' pro day in March.

The Chargers announced 18 undrafted free agents, led by former St. John Bosco star quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. The former five-star recruit whose winding college career took him from Clemson to Oregon State to Florida State joins a quarterback room that includes veteran Taylor Heinicke and recent free-agent signing Trey Lance battling for the backup spot.

Heinicke, who returns to the Chargers as the incumbent backup, re-signed on a one-year deal. Lance, 24, was the third overall pick in 2021 and is the same age as Uiagalelei, who played five games for Florida State in 2024 before suffering a season-ending hand injury.