Badgers in the NFL: Melvin Gordon Signs 2 Year Deal w/ Denver

Former Wisconsin Badger, Melvin Gordon, has agreed to a two-year deal with the Denver Broncos.

After finishing his career with the Wisconsin Football program, running back Melvin Gordon was the 15th overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft and since then, he has been an important part of the Chargers’ success on offense during that time.

Although he’s missed a few games here and there with injuries, when Gordon has been on the field, he has produced. From 2015 to 2018 he totaled more than 3,600 rushing yards at 4.0 yards per carry, along with 28 touchdowns. This includes a 1,000-yard season in 2017, 997 yards in only 13 games during the 2016 season, and 885 yards during just 12 games in 2018.

Meanwhile, after showing that he could be an effective pass catcher during his final season at Wisconsin, with the Chargers, Gordon was a big part of their passing attack as well. During the 2016 to 2018 seasons, he would average 462 receiving yards per year, total 10 touchdowns, and haul in over 72 percent of the passes thrown his way.

Whether it was on the ground or through the air, Gordon was putting up numbers and he became a well-known running back around the NFL.

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However, the 2019 season wasn’t so friendly. In the final year of his rookie deal, Gordon held out hoping to land a long-term deal. Unfortunately, he would never get that from Los Angeles and he missed a few games as well.

In the 12 games that he did play in last season, Gordon was still fairly productive as he totaled 612 rushing yards, along with 296 through the air, and nine total touchdowns. But he wasn’t nearly as efficient as he had been in past years.

Now, finally a free agent, it was recently reported that Gordon will head to Denver on a two-year deal that will pay him $16 million with $13.5 million guaranteed.

While it’s not the contract that Gordon was hoping for a year ago when he was holding out, it does provide him with some stability, a good portion of the contract is also guaranteed, and it gives him the opportunity to play for a Denver Broncos team that runs the ball quite well.

The past two seasons, Phillip Lindsay has rushed for over 1,000 yards in Denver and by Pro Football Outsiders, the Broncos had the 10th best run-blocking offensive line in football last season.

Not to mention that Gordon will have the opportunity to play the Chargers twice a year after they recently chose Austin Ekeler to be their primary running back moving forward.

While the 2019 season came with some turbulence, Gordon now has a home in Denver that should provide him with plenty of opportunities to succeed and hopefully land that long-term deal that he’s been looking for.