It hasn’t been a great year for free agency so far. A lot of lateral moves for fantasy purposes. And another one is coming down the pipe today, with the Broncos signing Melvin Gordon.
Per reports, it’s a two-year deal worth $16.5 million. For starters, this contract can be added to the pile of evidence that Bill O’Brien is the worst GM in the league right now. The Texans traded to take on David Johnson’s contract (they’ll pay him over $11 million this year), when they could saved money and gotten Gordon, who might be a better player.
This one moves Denver clearly in a one-two punch backfield. They tried to go that route the last two years, but Royce Freeman wasn’t as good as they were hoping. So now they’ll plug in Gordon to split time with Phillip Lindsay. There should be some weeks where one of these backs isn’t available, but on most Sundays, it will be a committee backfield. A signing that perhaps reduces the value of both backs.
Over the last two years, Lindsay has been the more effective of the two – more explosive. He’s averaged 4.9 yards per carry, while Gordon has been a half yard back. But Lindsay is tiny, making a part-time role a good fit for him.
Gordon stays in the division, which is nice. No doubt he’ll be running hard in those two games against the Chargers each year.
Over the past two years, 25 players have logged at least 300 carries, and here they are. (Houston’s pickup, Johnson, is next-to-last on this list). These aren’t traditional numbers. Most commonly, you would see rushing touchdowns, but on that one, I am instead showing total touchdowns (including receptions).
| YARDS PER CARRY (last 2 years) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | Yards | Avg | TD |
| Nick Chubb, Cle. | 490 | 2,490 | 5.08 | 18 |
| Derrick Henry, Ten. | 518 | 2,599 | 5.02 | 30 |
| Phillip Lindsay, Den. | 416 | 2,048 | 4.92 | 17 |
| Christian McCaffrey, Car. | 506 | 2,485 | 4.91 | 32 |
| Aaron Jones, G.B. | 369 | 1,812 | 4.91 | 28 |
| Mark Ingram, N.O.-Bal. | 340 | 1,663 | 4.89 | 22 |
| Saquon Barkley, NYG | 478 | 2,310 | 4.83 | 23 |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 605 | 2,791 | 4.61 | 23 |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 365 | 1,680 | 4.60 | 24 |
| Dalvin Cook, Min. | 383 | 1,750 | 4.57 | 17 |
| Chris Carson, Sea. | 525 | 2,381 | 4.54 | 18 |
| Marlon Mack, Ind. | 442 | 1,999 | 4.52 | 18 |
| Joe Mixon, Cin. | 515 | 2,305 | 4.48 | 17 |
| Melvin Gordon, LAC | 337 | 1,497 | 4.44 | 23 |
| Tevin Coleman, Atl.-S.F. | 304 | 1,344 | 4.42 | 16 |
| Todd Gurley, LAR | 479 | 2,108 | 4.40 | 35 |
| James Conner, Pitt. | 331 | 1,437 | 4.34 | 20 |
| Adrian Peterson, Was. | 462 | 1,940 | 4.20 | 13 |
| Frank Gore, Mia.-Buf. | 322 | 1,321 | 4.10 | 3 |
| Sony Michel, N.E. | 456 | 1,843 | 4.04 | 13 |
| Leonard Fournette, Jac. | 398 | 1,591 | 4.00 | 9 |
| Jordan Howard, Chi.-Phi. | 369 | 1,460 | 3.96 | 16 |
| Carlos Hyde, 3 tms | 417 | 1,641 | 3.94 | 11 |
| • David Johnson, Ariz. | 352 | 1,285 | 3.65 | 16 |
| Peyton Barber, T.B. | 388 | 1,341 | 3.46 | 13 |
—Ian Allan