The Denver Broncos recently signed Melvin Gordon to a two-year deal worth $16 million. This signing could turn out to be a great deal for the broncos or possibly a waste of money. Melvin Gordon has spent the beginning of his career as a member of the Los Angeles Chargers. Gordon had a stronger offer from another team but decided to take Denver’s offer to stay in the AFC West. As of right now, there seems to be some positives and negatives that might come out of this signing.
The Pros and Cons of Signing Melvin Gordon
The Pros
Denver now has two pro bowl running backs on their roster, giving them one of the best backfields in the NFL. Gordon brings everything to the table in his game that Lindsay lacks, namely, power running and a receiving threat. Melvin Gordon only received a two-year deal, which means Denver isn’t attached to Gordon, if they don’t want to be, for the long run. Gordon gives the Broncos young starting quarterback, Drew Lock, and new Offensive Coordinator, Pat Shurmur, another weapon to help increase their offensive output in 2020. Another thing that Gordon brings to the table is his efficiency over his career at scoring touchdowns in the redzone. Denver has struggled in red zone scoring the last two years so the match could end up being very beneficial for Denver’s redzone offense.
The Cons
An unwritten role to live by for NFL general managers is that you shouldn’t give running backs big contracts because it is such a disposable position. There are many examples of running backs who received huge contracts and the ended up not living up to their price tag. Another problem is that there is only one football, and Gordon will get limited opportunities because of him having to share touches with Phillip Lindsay and maybe even Royce Freeman. The Broncos could have used the money spent on Gordon to further upgrade the offensive line and protect Drew Lock. Gordon takes carries away from Phillip Lindsay who has proven to be a very good running back in the NFL. Running backs on average start to see a decline around 27 years of age and Melvin turns 27 in April. Gordon shared snaps with Austin Ekeler last year, and it didn’t work well for him last year.
Melvin Gordon has shown in the past that he can’t be an elite NFL running back, although he has been inconsistent from year to year. He is going to have to share time with Lindsay which can be detrimental to some and beneficial to others. Denver is hoping that Gordon will fit their system and be able to produce as well as he has before.
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