It seems like a lifetime ago that Melvin Gordon’s mother wouldn’t even wear his jersey during his rookie season. Drafted in 2015 by the then San Diego Chargers, Gordon only managed 641 yards and zero touchdowns as a rookie. He had a paltry 3.5 yards-per-carry and fumbled an inexcusable six times. Since then, however, he has been trending upward every year. In fact, he would probably be getting a lot more attention is it weren’t for his draft mate, Todd Gurley putting on a clinic at the position this season. Gurley was almost a consensus number one pick in fantasy drafts, while Gordon went towards the end of the first. Those who missed out on Gurley have been more than pleased with Gordon’s production.
An Ode to Melvin Gordon in Fantasy Football
Highest Floor in Fantasy
There are only three running backs with more points than Gordon in standard leagues. Gurley is number one, Alvin Kamara comes in a number two, and Kareem Hunt is third. Gordon has the fourth most points, but he does have a few advantages over the others. Mainly, Gordon is the only one to not have a game where he scored under ten points. He did miss a game due to injury, but at least his owners foresaw this and were able to put someone else in their lineups. Having a player who can be counted on to get into double-digit points every game makes owners feel safe starting a player in each game.
The other interesting thing is that Gordon has played not one, but two fewer games than Gurley and Hunt, who have their byes this week. Gurley is way too far ahead of anyone to catch in the next week. However, Gordon just needs about 16 points to catch Hunt this week and potentially move into the top three at the position. Overall, Gordon’s 21 fantasy-points-per-game is second only Gurley.
The real difference in points is in terms of ceilings. Kamara, and Hunt both have two games where they went over 30 points. Gurley has just one but also has two games where he put up 29.3 points. Gordon also only has one game over 30 points, but it shows he has just as big a ceiling as any of those players. Being as involved in the passing game as he is, Gordon is a threat to explode any week he takes the field.
Beating out Guys with Higher ADP
There is nothing worse than whiffing on a top pick. Those who rolled the dice on Le’Veon Bell were burned. Leonard Fournette went around the same time in drafts as Gordon. He has missed a ton of games with injury. From there, most of the running backs who went after Gordon have been huge disappointments. Jordan Howard and LeSean McCoy have wildly underperformed. Like Fournette, Dalvin Cook has missed a ton of time, and Devonta Freeman went down early in the season. Don’t even mention the name Jerick McKinnon around people who drafted him.
Gordon had about a 9OVR ADP in standard leagues but has slightly exceeded those expectations. He has done better than some of the backs taken before him, including David Johnson and Ezekiel Elliott. Being taken at the end of the round lined things up in snake drafts to get another quality player not long after Gordon.
Squads who opted to go with a wide receiver instead of Gordon in the first round may be wishing they had gone a different route. His top-five numbers at running back also exceed all wide receivers. Big names like Antonio Brown and Odell Beckham Jr. have been good but aren’t even averaging 15 points a game. In fact, Tyreek Hill is the only receiver averaging more than 15 points a game, and people would have been crazy to take him before Gordon. There are probably plenty of teams who have both.
Evolution of His Game
Gordon’s evolution in his game has been a big reason for his improvement. Prior to this season, Gordon has gotten by mainly on volume and touchdowns. He has never averaged four yards per carry over a season. This year, Gordon shot all the way up to 5.2 so far. He’s also been extremely involved in the passing game, which is a big reason for his high floor. It also means that he won’t leave the field as much when the Chargers are playing from behind or are in a two-minute drill. The team does have change-of-pace back Austin Ekeler, but Gordon’s versatility makes it tough to take him off the field.
It also helps that the Los Angeles offense is pretty versatile in its own right. Quarterback Philip Rivers has been around for a while, and has always been a great quarterback, but he has never had as complete an offense as he does now. Keenan Allen, Tyrell Williams, and Mike Williams form a tandem that is as good as the Chargers have ever had. Their offensive line, which has been leaky and injury-plagued in recent years, is now one of the better units in the league. All this combined, ranks them as the number seven unit in the league. Their ability to pass the ball at all levels keeps defenses honest and doesn’t let them sell out against the run.
Last Word on Melvin Gordon’s Fantasy Football Ode
About the same time Gordon was drafted was when fantasy analysts were announcing the death of the running back in football. In a league more focused on passing, bell-cow backs getting 30 carries a game were out of style. Well, running backs must have heard, as they just decided to change their style. Sure, not may are getting 30 carries a game, but they’re making up for it by getting involved in the pass game. Backs like Gordon, Gurley, and now even Saquon Barkley this year are proving that running backs will continue to dominate fantasy football for years to come.
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