Melvin Gordon Would 'Love' to Re-Sign with Broncos to Play with Javonte Williams Again
Entering one of the most unstable times in the history of the Denver Broncos this offseason, the first domino has fallen with the hiring of former Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett as the new head coach. In Hackett’s introductory press conference, it was revealed he would be calling plays this season and implementing an outside-zone rushing scheme with West Coast passing principles on offense.
The outside-zone should be familiar to Broncos Country as it was the bread and butter during Mike Shanahan’s tenure in Denver. Under the eye of offensive line coach Alex Gibbs, the Broncos found smaller and quicker offensive linemen that beat defenders to areas on the field, getting the defensive front moving laterally, and creating lanes for such running backs as Hall-of-Famer Terrell Davis.
While Denver will likely see more outside-zone rushing and far less power looks in 2022, the inside-zone and 11 personnel seen under former offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur will also likely be a large part of the offense. If the rate at which the Packers have used those looks over the past few seasons is any indication, Denver will deploy something similar under Hackett this coming season.
If the inside-zone is another key pillar for the Broncos offensively, perhaps GM George Paton should consider re-signing free-agent running back Melvin Gordon. After garnering a two-year, $16 million deal back in 2020, Gordon became one of the rare running backs to provide solid value over the duration of a second NFL contract.
If it matters at all, it sounds like Gordon would love to come back to Denver next season if given the chance.
"Bra, I hope I'm with the Broncos next year. Me and 33 gon' run thru teams, I promise," Gordon tweeted on Sunday.
Again, signing a running back to a large contract after his rookie deal expires tends to be risky business. With the running back position depreciating in value the more carries they compile, many teams prefer to continually draft rookies, ride them hard over their early seasons, and let them walk.
With such recent examples as Carolina's Christian McCaffery, Dallas' Ezekiel Elliott, Atlanta's Todd Gurley, Houston's David Johnson, and Tampa Bay's Le’Veon Bell — all of whom garnered a big second contract but didn’t live up to expectations after signing on the dotted line, paying money for Gordon on a third contract should be questioned on the surface.
Gordon has compiled 1,761 career touches and will be 29 years old entering next season, so is he potentially approaching a drop-off in form?
If Denver is comfortable moving on from Gordon this offseason, it will likely be because the team is comfortable with 2021 second-round pick Javonte Williams (33) to carry more of the load going forward. While there should be some curiosity as to how Williams’ play will translate to a rushing scheme that demands patience, vision, and burst to hit cutback lanes, it's likely the Broncos will manufacture looks he is comfortable with regardless of schematic preferences — given his overall talent.
Still, given the discrepancy in zone-to-gap touches between Gordon and Williams last season, according to Pro Football Focus (Gordon 124 zone to 76 gap rushes/Williams 104 zone to 95), perhaps the coaches identified a deficiency in Williams’ zone-rushing game.
Luckily for Gordon’s hopes to return to Denver next season, the Packers featured one of the most efficient rushing attacks in the NFL last season. Green Bay ranked sixth in the NFL in rush EPA per play at -0.003, and the eighth-best rush DVOA in the league at 3.5%, with a running-back-by-committee featuring Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon.
Both running backs also earned extremely high marks from PFF, with Dillon earning an 86.9 offensive grade, ranking second in the NFL (and a 90.0 rush grade which tops in the league), and Jones earning an 82.1 offensive grade, ranking fourth overall, there should be opportunities for multiple running backs to make large contributions in Denver next season.
Whether that be Williams and Gordon, Williams and Mike Boone, or another back, the Broncos should have the horses to realize Hackett's offensive vision.
Market Value
Say what you will about the possibility of Gordon to returning to Denver, if Spotrac’s Market Value is close to correct, Paton will have to at least consider it. With Gordon having a projected one-year value of $5.2M this offseason, a return to the Mile High City shouldn’t be outright dismissed.
If Paton approached Gordon with a deal for $10-ish million over two years that featured little dead cap associated with the 2023 season, Denver could easily bring him back for a very reasonable cap hit. Everyone in Broncos Country wants to see more Williams, but if Denver is going to be able to improve its offense enough to return to the playoffs, the offense will need an efficient per touch version of the dynamic back out on the field.
Retaining Gordon for a relatively cheap, short-term deal to protect the quality of the depth in Denver and keep a stable of healthy bodies in the backfield would not be a terrible usage of resources. If Gordon is excited about the prospect of working under Hackett in Denver alongside Williams, then Paton should pounce to see if the Broncos can re-sign the older back on a short-term deal.
A deal for Gordon at this stage of his career won’t break the bank. If Gordon wants to be back, a fair deal could ostensibly be worked out.
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