By Jordan Long
Running back Melvin Gordon is still a free agent. His market value seems to be low. Gordon could be worth $2.5 million according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. Denver might want to consider re-signing Gordon if that is the case to add to their running back core.
Gordon spent the last two years in Denver. In 2020 Gordon rushed for 986 yards and 9 touchdowns. In 2021, his total was lower at 918 yards and 8 touchdowns. He wasn’t the featured back last year and split the carries with rookie Javonte Williams. Williams ended up with 903 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Denver also used Gordon in the passing game. Quarterbacks would throw to him on screens or just short passes. Gordon totaled 60 receptions for 371 yards and 3 touchdowns.
The problem with Gordon in Denver was his inability to hold onto the football. Defenders found it easy to knock it out of his hands. He didn’t hold the football tight to his body or keep two hands on it which would have made it more difficult for defenses to force fumbles on him. In the two years with the Broncos, Gordon fumbled 7 times and the defense recovered 5 of them. Sometimes those fumbles gave the opponent’s offense good field position either in Denver’s territory or near the 50. Other times, he would fumble near the goal line when Denver was driving which took points off the scoreboard for the Broncos’ offense.
Denver, though, should think about bringing Gordon back. They had a pretty good 1-2 punch of Williams and Gordon. Looking at the roster right now, the Broncos don’t have a running back who has the experience like Gordon behind Williams. The two other running backs on the current roster are Mike Boone and Damarea Crockett.
Boone carried the ball 4 times last year for a total of 35 yards. He also had 2 catches for 22 yards. In his 4-year career Boone has 414 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns, not enough to have confidence that he can be a productive back up to Williams. Crockett finished his rookie season and is still learning the NFL game. Last season he rushed for 7 yards.
The Broncos have the cap space at around $14.794 million to spend to bring in Gordon for another year. The Broncos should really think about giving him a call. How could it hurt? They need a veteran running back. Gordon could be the answer.
Leave a Reply