Did the Patriots just pull off an amazing steal? Or are they simply taking a low-cost look at wide receiver who used to be really good? They’ve agreed with Cleveland on a trade for troubled wide receiver Josh Gordon.
Gordon has unusual size and speed, and he’s put things together on the field at times. Never more so than in 2013, when he led the league in receiving yards despite playing only 14 games for a really bad team. The Browns went 4-12 that year, with a combo platter of Jason Campbell, Brandon Weeden and Brian Hoyer at quarterback.
Using standard scoring, that was the 3rd-best per-game season by any wide receiver in the past five years. For all of the great ball we’ve seen out of Odell Beckham and Antonio Brown, each of those wide receivers have had only one season with better per-game numbers than what Gordon did that season.
| PER-GAME RECEIVING PRODUCTION (last 5 years) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | St | No | Yards | TD | FPG |
| 2014 | Odell Beckham, NYG | 11 | 7.9 | 114.6 | 1.00 | 17.8 |
| 2014 | Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 16 | 8.1 | 106.1 | .94 | 16.3 |
| 2013 | Josh Gordon, Clev. | 14 | 6.2 | 117.6 | .64 | 16.2 |
| 2015 | Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 16 | 8.5 | 114.6 | .73 | 16.0 |
| 2013 | Calvin Johnson, Det. | 14 | 6.0 | 106.6 | .86 | 15.8 |
| 2015 | Julio Jones, Atl. | 16 | 8.5 | 116.9 | .56 | 15.1 |
| 2017 | Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 14 | 7.2 | 109.5 | .67 | 14.9 |
| 2015 | Odell Beckham, NYG | 15 | 6.4 | 96.7 | .87 | 14.9 |
| 2015 | Brandon Marshall, NYJ | 16 | 6.8 | 93.9 | .88 | 14.6 |
| 2017 | DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 15 | 6.4 | 91.9 | .87 | 14.4 |
| 2014 | Jordy Nelson, G.B. | 16 | 6.1 | 94.9 | .81 | 14.4 |
| 2014 | Demaryius Thomas, Den. | 16 | 6.9 | 101.2 | .71 | 14.4 |
| 2014 | Dez Bryant, Dall. | 16 | 5.5 | 82.5 | 1.00 | 14.3 |
| 2013 | Demaryius Thomas, Den. | 16 | 5.8 | 89.4 | .88 | 14.2 |
| 2015 | Allen Robinson, Jac. | 16 | 5.0 | 87.5 | .88 | 14.0 |
| 2015 | DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 16 | 6.9 | 95.1 | .71 | 13.7 |
| 2016 | Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 15 | 7.1 | 85.6 | .80 | 13.4 |
| 2016 | Jordy Nelson, G.B. | 16 | 6.1 | 78.6 | .88 | 13.1 |
| 2013 | A.J. Green, Cin. | 16 | 6.1 | 89.1 | .69 | 13.0 |
| 2014 | Julio Jones, Atl. | 15 | 6.9 | 106.2 | .40 | 13.0 |
| 2016 | Mike Evans, T.B. | 16 | 6.0 | 82.6 | .79 | 13.0 |
| 2014 | Randall Cobb, G.B. | 16 | 5.7 | 80.4 | .77 | 12.9 |
| 2013 | Brandon Marshall, Chi. | 16 | 6.3 | 80.9 | .79 | 12.8 |
| 2013 | Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 16 | 6.9 | 93.7 | .56 | 12.8 |
| 2016 | Julio Jones, Atl. | 14 | 5.9 | 100.6 | .43 | 12.6 |
| 2015 | Julian Edelman, N.E. | 9 | 6.8 | 76.9 | .78 | 12.6 |
| 2013 | Dez Bryant, Dall. | 16 | 5.8 | 77.1 | .81 | 12.6 |
| 2014 | Emmanuel Sanders, Den. | 16 | 6.3 | 87.8 | .58 | 12.5 |
| 2016 | Odell Beckham, NYG | 16 | 6.3 | 85.4 | .63 | 12.4 |
| 2013 | Alshon Jeffery, Chi. | 16 | 5.6 | 88.8 | .46 | 12.3 |
Gordon is only 27 years old, and he’s shown flashes of still being an elite talent. He averaged 18.6 yards per catch last year, and he caught a 17-yard touchdown against Cleveland in Week 1.
He was suspended for 54 of the 64 games of the 2014-2017 seasons for violating the league’s substance abuse policies.
I don’t think the Patriots have big plans for Gordon. I don’t think this is a case where they’re looking for him to come in and be 2007 Randy Moss. They have a bunch of other pass catchers. Julian Edelman will come in and man the slot. James White is catching a bunch of balls out of the backfield. Rob Gronkowski and Chris Hogan have been around for years, so they know that offense – there’s a trust factor there with Tom Brady. And Phillip Dorsett and Cordarrelle Patterson have come in and carved out roles.
So with Gordon, I think the more reasonable expectation is that they’ll bring him in and take a look. They’re bringing him in for a test run, and they’ll see what he’s all about – whether he’s willing to be on time and work harder than he ever did in Cleveland. If not, they’ll cut him loose and move on to somebody else. Similarly, they’ve had Corey Coleman for two weeks, and they’re cutting him loose to clear a roster spot.
Similarly, the Patriots have brought in Kenny Britt and Michael Floyd in recent years. Doesn’t hurt to see if a change of scenario maybe sparks some production.
If Gordon doesn’t work out, the cost is low. They’re giving up a fifth-round pick, but they get a seventh-rounder back if Gordon doesn’t play in 10 games this year. With the Patriots being good and the Browns being bad, there’s not a lot of difference between a fifth-rounder and a seventh-rounder.
Coming in and trying to learn a new offense during the season, expectations should be low. With all of those other pieces already in place, I think they’ll probably try rotating him in as an outside receiver, running almost exclusively vertical routes. Maybe he’s on the field for 10-15 plays per game, seeing a couple of deep balls. If he can pull coverages away or starting catches some long touchdowns, then they can start looking at maybe using him more.
I don’t expect Gordon to make much of an impact this year. I expect Edelman, Hogan, Dorsett and probably Patterson will all catch more passes than Gordon in the final 14 weeks of the season.
—Ian Allan