A lot of fantasy football, both analysis and discussion, seems to be propping up some players while ripping others. I do it too, and I get it: we all have strong opinions on things, and being wishy-washy doesn't help anyone. Endorsements, and reasons to pick one player rather than another, are important. And it's long been a thing with the Denver backfield.
In the preseason, some thought that veteran Melvin Gordon, in a contract year and an older player, might be cut so the Broncos could save a little money and hand the reins to second-round running back Javonte Williams. Never made sense to me: this is a team that wants to win by running the ball and playing good defense. They need two running backs.
Then Gordon had the big Week 1 against the Giants, finishing with 101 yards and a touchdown, and the popular thought was Ah, the youngster can wait his turn, Gordon is The Man in the backfield. And now I see an item noting that a larger percentage of Williams' carries against the Jets last week were in garbage time -- defined as when the Broncos were almost certainly going to win. Denver was almost certainly going to win once they had a 2-score lead, but regardless.
The truth is that this is a committee backfield and the two are splitting everything almost right down the middle. Gordon's 70-yard breakaway in Week 1 was right after the Giants had been stopped on 4th down late in the game. The outcome was no longer in doubt, and the fans were streaming for the exits. (Literally; I was there. The section around us emptied out. And we moved up closer to the field for the final quarter.)
Anyhoo, if you remove that 70-yard TD from the equation, here are Gordon and Williams' numbers through the first three games of the season.
| GORDON VS JAVONTE | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Gordon | Javonte |
| Att | 41 | 39 |
| Run | 123 | 138 |
| Avg | 3.0 | 3.5 |
| Tgt | 7 | 6 |
| Rec | 6 | 5 |
| Yds | 76 | 39 |
| Tot | 199 | 177 |
| TDs | 1 | 1 |
Gordon's 70-yard touchdown run counts. That was a great play, but it happened against a deflated or disinterested team, like much of Jalen Hurts' production last night.
Williams lost a goal-line fumble against the Jets, leading some to wonder if he'll be penalized by Vic Fangio this week. Maybe, it happens. But it was a good defensive play, it's one carry, and Williams has generally played well. Whether you want to consider it garbage-time or not.
I'll be starting both players in leagues a lot of weeks, and probably getting decent production. Matchup isn't great this week (Baltimore), but there will be plenty of good ones coming up.
--Andy Richardson