EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Assuming both Melvin Gordon and Trae Waynes are with their respective teams in 2019 -- the next time the San Diego Chargers and Minnesota Vikings are scheduled to meet -- the childhood friends could finally get their chance to square off as cornerstones of their respective teams.

The two have been best friends since their freshman year at Bradford High School in Kenosha, Wisconsin, forging a relationship through constant one-upsmanship on the football field, the track and Xbox. But the head-to-head battles they've often talked about haven't really happened since they left high school. When Michigan State and Wisconsin met twice in 2011, Waynes was in his redshirt season and Gordon had already suffered a groin injury that led to him receiving a medical redshirt. The next season, Waynes was a redshirt freshman playing mostly on special teams, while Gordon was getting infrequent work in the Badgers' backfield. The two schools didn't meet in 2013 and 2014, meaning the theater would have to shift to the NFL once both players declared for the draft.

"Melvin's a big boy. They're constantly talking smack about it. My biggest fear is somebody's going to get hurt," Trae Waynes' mother, Erin, said the day after the Vikings took Waynes 11th overall and the Chargers selected Gordon four picks later. "As soon as they both got drafted, people were checking out the schedules, seeing when they were going to face each other. I'll probably have my eyes closed for most of the game."

Melvin Gordon (left) and Trae Waynes have played together in high school, faced each other in college, and will be on the same field in the NFL on Sunday when the Chargers play the Vikings. Courtesy Erin Waynes

Their first matchup in the NFL, which comes Sunday at TCF Bank Stadium, might not live up to the billing. While Gordon is starting for the Chargers, having carried 30 times in the team's first two games, Waynes has only played on special teams as the Vikings follow a careful development plan for the rookie cornerback.

"I do expect him to be a very good player in this league," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said Wednesday. "And there’s a chance he’ll continue to progress throughout the season. I think he’s got a really good future. We’ll just kind of bring him along when he’s ready."

The matchup remains a big moment for Waynes and Gordon, who still talk every day. Waynes estimated the two would have more than 20 friends and family at the game Sunday, adding, "I have people I don't even talk to telling me they're coming."

And even if the two rookies aren't on the same plane with their respective teams, the game is still a reminder of how far they've come.

"We've probably [talked about this] since we were freshmen [in high school]," Gordon said. "We used to play in varsity reserve games, so [it] probably [started] on the buses back home from those games."

Waynes and Gordon were at the center of a circle that included Nebraska defensive end Joe Keels and Bradford High School quarterback Gino DeBartolo. Waynes and Gordon have often been cast as opposites -- Gordon the brash, excitable type; Waynes the more quiet, serious one -- but beneath their different personalities and constant competition lies a deep respect.

When Waynes broke his leg as a senior in high school, Gordon wore a towel with Waynes' name and number on it.

"That was my brother, so that's who I was out there playing for," Gordon said.

And when Gordon fumbled in the Badgers' game last November in Nebraska, Waynes could see the determination on his friend's face while watching on TV.

"I texted Joe and said, 'He's about to go crazy,'" Waynes said.

Gordon finished the game with a then-FBS record 408 rushing yards.

Their meetings in the NFL will be infrequent as long as they're playing in separate conferences. Even if this first one goes by without Gordon and Waynes on the field at the same time, it's still an experience they've long hoped to share.

"It'll be great," Waynes said. "It's something we always, I guess, dreamed about, starting from high school and into college and now here."