Melvin Gordon value

[The Fantasy Feud]

He's dependent on the ball being downed inside the 5. Then he does his job. Not buying, but i'm selling for sure.

[Cameron Giles]

His touchdowns: 1, 6, 3, 1, 1, 1.

3.2 YPC. Great for redraft, not encouraging for dynasty.

[eraldo_coil]

Some guy on Reddit told me he sold cooks for him straight up in the last week.

[dynastyninja]

I will try to not to include any bias because I do own him. His offensive line has been bad. I believe in the talent, so I'm not selling.

I think his price is being held down by his ypc, so it seems to me like he's worth buying. The Cooks trade is probably redraft. Freeman and a 1st is a little pricy, but I don't think it's ridiculous. So far he has had two games with a respectable YPC and two with a very bad YPC, but with Woodhead going down he's been buoyed by some nice receiving numbers.

I don't think his terrible YPC is a result of his ability. It is more a function of the team he is on, but the team he is on will also be using him as a pass catcher. Because of that he's basically guaranteed a minimum of 10 PPR points per game with TD potential of a lot more. If Rivers was able to dump it off to him properly a couple weeks ago he would've added another 15 yard receiving TD to his numbers.

[Dynasty DeLorean]

The bad team excuse is all I hear but when has a stud rb had a terrible ypc for 2 years in a row. I can't think of one. Maybe for a stretch of games or maybe a year at most, but not longer than that. And there have been many studs on bad teams. In any event if there is an example they are few and far between, not exactly something I would be banking on. Melvins best case scenario to me seems like a mark Ingram or Doug Martin career path. Hell be relevant for several years but it will be a rollercoaster.

[dynastyninja]

I think the bad team excuse is legitimate. San Diego's offensive line was the worst in the NFL last year, according to PFF. We are also 25% of the way into this season, so it's way too soon to say he has a terrible YPC. So far it's been 12.5% solid, 12.5% terrible.

Todd Gurley is seeing it now. His low YPC is a definite result of the team around him.

[mratlanta]

I think the bad team excuse is legitimate. San Diego's offensive line was the worst in the NFL last year, according to PFF. We are also 25% of the way into this season, so it's way too soon to say he has a terrible YPC. So far it's been 12.5% solid, 12.5% terrible.

Todd Gurley is seeing it now. His low YPC is a definite result of the team around him.

I agree. I'm not a Gordon fan but the OT line is enormously critical to any RBs success. Even AP can't run through holes that aren't there.

[Dynasty DeLorean]

I don't agree at all. Why is Melvin Gordon the only stud rb in history to have this problem (if we are to assume it goes on like this for the rest of the year). Gurley is struggling right now but even so his career ypc is still 4.3.

[EdCole]

Gurley is an interesting comparison at least for this year. Although I thought I read that Gurley was actually looking good if you look at yards after contact this year. Hence numbers that back up that the offense is holding him down. Anyone have any similar arguments for Gordon?

[TB3falcons]

Traded a projected late 1st (original owner is 6-1) for him in a 16 team league. Feel good about the deal.

[dynastyninja]

I don't agree at all. Why is Melvin Gordon the only stud rb in history to have this problem (if we are to assume it goes on like this for the rest of the year). Gurley is struggling right now but even so his career ypc is still 4.3.

I guess the thing here is I don't really consider Gordon a stud. He's a definite RB1 in my rankings, but not a stud.

[dynastyninja]

164 of his 230 yards have been after contact this season. SD's offensive line thus far is 27th according to PFF, so it's still hurting him. I'm not saying he's a stud, but I think it would be completely accurate to say that terrible blocking is holding Gordon back.

[ninotoreS]

Freeman and a 1st is a little pricy, but I don't think it's ridiculous.

It's ridiculous when you compare tape. Diminished statistical opportunities aside, Freeman is running like one of the best five running-backs in the NFL. Actually, top 5 may be low-balling it. He's definitely only an RB2 these days with Coleman around, but dynasty is a long-view format. Devonta Freeman's a really good pro football player; I'm not sure Melvin Gordon is even an average NFL player.

Okay, that's the last thing I post about Freeman. Won't derail the thread. This is about Melvin.

Anyway, I wouldn't even trade a mid-high 2017 1st for Gordon, much less an All-Pro running-back, much much less both.

164 of his 230 yards have been after contact this season. SD's offensive line thus far is 27th according to PFF, so it's still hurting him. I'm not saying he's a stud, but I think it would be completely accurate to say that terrible blocking is holding Gordon back.

Keep in mind the specific problems with Gordon are vision, decisiveness, and not trusting (or seeing, apparently) his blockers, so this automatically makes him prone to getting contacted more quickly and closer to the LoS, regardless of his line.

I will say he's doing better pushing through contact this year than last year.

[dynastyninja]

Well then we're seeing different things. Implying that he is below average is incorrect.

[ninotoreS]

It's just what the cut-ups show. /shrug

Gordon is fast when he's got space at the second and third level. The rest of the time he looks (and performs) replacement-level. I'll be happy to change my assessment once he shows me I should.


edit: Btw, vs the Saints, three of the Chargers top 5 graded players on offense according to PFF were O-linemen. Meanwhile Gordon scored a 46.5. Thats... real bad. Two Chargers O-linemen also had grades of 80+ vs the Colts. Gordon, again, not so much; he broke exactly one tackle on 20 touches.