Getty Denver Broncos GM George Paton walking the sidelines before kickoff.
The rushing attack hasn’t been great for the Denver Broncos this season. First, Denver lost Javonte Williams to a torn ACL and then Mike Boone was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury.
This leaves Melvin Gordon as the final running back of Denver’s top three to enter the season and that’s not a good sign.
So far this season, Gordon has not lived up to the hype, but has been the center of attention. Making headlines constantly in the first part of the season, many fans wondered why Gordon is even on Denver’s roster.
Averaging just 3.5 yards per carry, Gordon hasn’t shown that he deserves to be the lead back next to quarterback Russell Wilson.
According to general manager George Paton, that’s not the case.
Right before the NFL trade deadline, the Broncos traded linebacker Bradley Chubb to the Miami Dolphins. In return, Denver received first and fourth-round picks and running back Chase Edmonds.
After the trade, general manager George Paton spoke to the Denver media and gave an answer that shocked everyone.
When asked if Edmonds will influence Gordon’s playing time, Paton said, “It doesn’t effect Melvin [Gordon] at all, it brings more competition.” Paton continued, “We like Melvin and he’s going to be our starter. He and Latavius [Murray] will rotate.”
Since Williams went down, the Broncos went out and signed Latavius Murray off the New Orleans Saints’ practice squad to be the No. 2 running back behind Gordon. That hasn’t been the case though.
In the three games that Murray has been wearing orange and blue, he has carried the ball 14 more times than Gordon and has rushed for 66 more yards. During that stretch, Murray has already tied Gordon’s touchdown total for the season with two.
During the last three games, Gordon has yet to rush for more than 33 yards in a game and is averaging just 3.04 yards per carry.
Gordon has Hurt the Broncos
Early in the season, Gordon has changed the momentum in games for the Broncos in the worst possible ways.
On opening night against the Seahawks, Gordon who has a history in fumbling, fumbled the ball on the one-yard line as he tried to score a touchdown. If Gordon doesn’t fumble, Denver will take the lead and momentum in the middle of the third-quarter.
Just two weeks later against the San Francisco 49ers, Denver was driving late in the fourth-quarter with a five-point lead and Gordon fumbled again. Luckily the Broncos would recover the fumble, but that would’ve given the 49ers the ball at their own 36-yard line with over six minutes to go, needing a touchdown to win the game.
The following week, Gordon fumbled again on his first carry of the game. The game was tied 10-10, in Raiders territory, with over three minutes left in the first half. Denver’s plan was to run the clock down and either score a touchdown or kick a field goal and then get the ball to open the third-quarter.
Instead, Gordon fumbled and cornerback Amik Robertson returned the fumble 68 yards for a touchdown, putting the Raiders up six points. That put Las Vegas up six points and Denver could never catch backup.
This season, Gordon has fumbled the ball four times and is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry. That average doesn’t even rank in the top 40. His rushing total of 263 yards in eight games ranks 48th in all players. In fact, eight different quarterbacks have rushed for more yards than Gordon including Daniel Jones on nine less carries.
Since Week 6, Murray has been the lead back and matched Gordon’s touchdown total for the season at two.
Gordon has Taken Frustrations to Twitter
After being benched early in the game against the Chargers in Week 6, Gordon went on Twitter and liked tweets suggesting that the Broncos need to trade him or release him. There was even a tweet that Gordon liked that suggested he should be traded to the Los Angeles Rams for running back Cam Akers.
Melvin Gordon’s ‘liked’ tweets are… not ideal.
In addition to the Broncos trading for Edmonds, Denver also went out and signed Marlon Mack off the 49ers’ practice squad.
The Broncos will look to improve their 22nd ranked rushing attack during their final nine games of the regular season.
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George Paton Sends Clear Message About RB Melvin Gordon