Monday, September 5, 2016

Melvin Gordon: Charged Up For His Second Year


Melvin Gordon, the 2015 first-round draft pick for the San Diego Chargers seems to be primed for big second year after a lack-luster rookie campaign.

The Chargers have been searching for a franchise running back since parting ways with their franchises rushing leader and future hall-of-famer LaDainian Tomlinson, famously known as "LT", in 2010.

 Gordon, the former no.15 overall selection, was the second running back taken in the 2015 draft and one of the two running backs selected in the first round (Todd Gurely was the other, drafted no.11 by the Rams). After rushing for 641 yards on 184 attempts, 3.5 yards per carry. One thing that stands out even more than a very sub-par ypc is that Gordon, who had 45 rushing touchdowns at Wisconsin, failed to find the end zone in 2015. During the preseason it looked like Gordon has become more comfortable in this Chargers offense, in the limited time that we saw him, rushing for 81 yards on 13 carries and adding a rushing touchdown. With the reserved back Brandon Oliver out for the 2016 season, due to injury, expect for Gordon to touch the ball a lot more.

The San Diego Chargers open the season on Sunday, September 11 at Kansas City. It'll be a good first test for Gordon. The Chiefs, a division foe, was the 8th best team against the run in 2015, allowing just 92 yards per game on the ground and only 7 rushing touchdowns the entire season. Can Gordon show that he was worth taking with the no.15 pick? Can he prove that he's the franchise running back that the Chargers have been looking for? This will be a big year for Gordon. 2016 could be the year to show what Gordon is going to be. Beast or bust. 

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