Los Angeles Chargers |

Height Weight : 215 Age : 25 : 6-1: 215: 25

Born : 4/13/1993 Kenosha, WI

College : Wisconsin

Experience : 4th season

High School : Mary Bradford HS [Kenosha, WI]









The Perception:

It’s no secret we haven’t been shy in voicing our displeasure of the Chargers top running back Melvin Gordon over his first three years in the NFL, however, our lukewarm praise is beginning to boil as we enter the 2018 season. ADF is a firm believer in progression dictating future outcomes; and Melvin surly had us take notice after he completed his first full season playing the entire sixteen game slate while improving his numbers every year.





The concern on Gordon coming out of college had heightened potential for durability concerns simply because of the usage he saw in Wisconsin. The coaching staff leaned on Melvin in his sophomore and junior campaigns elevating his carry totals to astronomical levels where he amassed 549 carries in just those two seasons, quite the heavy workload. Though Melvin had fantastic production from higher tallies before declaring for the NFL Draft, the writing was on the wall to expect a slower than normal start to his NFL career simply based on usage. That perception of Gordon came true as his missed five games to injury in his first two seasons as the lead back in San Diego. With those missed contests came lost production as Melvin couldn’t find his way to breaking the 1000 yard rushing mark to start his career back in 2015 & 2016.





Continuing to evaluate the on field production Gordon has been able to achieve, the upside from his 2016 season (though he missed 3 games to injury) was the fact that he feel just three yards short of reaching his first 1000 yard season, progression was moving in the right direction even with lost time. As the Chargers owner chose to pack up the team with a stadium deal completely collapsed, Los Angeles would now be the Chargers home and with that came great improvement and further progression from the former Heisman trophy runner up. Gordon showed improvement last season primarily in the pass game becoming a vocal point of the offense in check down and schemed passing situations. The inconsistency in Melvin’s game seems to still exist, as in certain weeks he definitely leaves you wanting more.





The Reality:

The greatest encouragement for Gordon from last season was his ability to finally finish the entire year without a major hitch (injury wise), galloping to over 1100 rushing yards on 284 carries, while adding a healthy 58 receptions totaling 476 receiving yards, and finding pay-dirt 12 times combined, quite impressive. As we mentioned above, recognizing progression from season to season for any young player is part of the formula to predicting future success. The second aspect to predicting future seasons is the validity of talent spread around the rest of the roster, which the LA Chargers absolutely possess.





When reviewing the cast of characters on this squad to support Gordon’s continued progression, we really can’t find many negatives from this team. Though Philip Rivers has become long in the tooth with many years of experience, his play hasn’t fallen off a cliff even at the ripe age of 36 years young. While Rivers has been somewhat prone to throwing interceptions, his production continues to rival the top passers in the NFL, a great uptick to Melvin. Adding to the positive of still having a top flight passer, the Chargers employ a plethora of wide receivers that will surly keep opposing defenses from stacking the box leaving open lanes for Gordon to rush through, very encouraging. More positives for the Chargers as they enter the second season under Coach Anthony Lynn, who’s been known to favour a run heavy scheme to set up the pass, and should have all the wrinkles ironed out from this past year of implementation. With all the praise suggested thus far on the Chargers offensively, the top notch defense assembled in Los Angeles should provide Gordon with plenty more opportunity to close out games via the run, plus marks everywhere on this unit.





It’s been clearly noted the great concern for the Chargers in the past always returns to the limitations of their offensive line. Adding Mike Pouncey to man the Center position gives credence that perhaps Los Angeles could be turning the corner with their front five. Having Forrest Lamp on track to return from a rookie season lost to an ACL injury, our eyes continue to open wider with the potential that Melvin Gordon will see lanes open the likes semi-trucks could drive through. The potential reality in the Chargers situation from day one looks extremely favorable for Gordon to have his best season as a pro.





The Outlook:

As we have stated and continue to preach throughout this evaluation, progression is a key to success for any player, but with a squad as talented as this one surrounding Melvin Gordon, it difficult to not get excited. Searching for concerns in Melvin’s overall game has appeared to become quite difficult outside the points we already covered. One aspect that shoots out as grave worry is the low average yards per carry (3.8 yards per carry career average) and lack of 100 yard rushing games (five 100 yard career games) Gordon has under-produced. In saying that, Gordon remains a heavy producer with his work in the pass game, and having a keen eye for the endzone will keep his status as a top tier running back in the NFL.



