Hackett Talks Up RB Melvin Gordon: 'Excited to Give Him the Ball A Lot'
Like it or hate it, Melvin Gordon will remain an integral component of the Denver Broncos' backfield, the 1B vulture to Javonte Williams' 1A workhorse. And despite the dichotomy, the team has no plans to limit the 29-year-old's touches.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
"Melvin—when he comes out there, he looks like a big, strong running back, and we’re just excited to feed him the rock and give him the ball a lot," head coach Nathaniel Hackett proclaimed Wednesday.
This, to the informed, is an anticlimactic development as Gordon led the Broncos in rushing each of the past two campaigns and returned this offseason via a one-year, $2.25 million prove-it deal that includes $2 million available in play-time incentives. The contract, however, suggests Gordon is the clear backup to Williams, a reality the former has slightly resigned himself to.
"I think they want ‘Vonte’ to be the guy, but we do rotate," Gordon said on Aug. 17. "He’ll take the first series and then the second series with the [No. 1 offense], I’ll take. Sometimes we switch, but you know kind of how it is. I don’t know how they will do the rotation. I have to go back and look at how they did things in Green Bay with the carries and things like that. My mom says just go out here and compete and go as hard as I can. I don’t know what the future holds other than that, but I just want to put my best foot forward so when I do so out there, they go, ‘OK, we need to get him out there more.’ I know I have the game; I know I can play and I still have the juice, but we’ll see.”
Indeed, Hackett and new offensive coordinator Justin Outten aim to replicate the two-RB success they found with the Packers and copy-paste the approach in Denver. Practically speaking, Gordon is their Aaron Jones and Williams their AJ Dillon. Or vice versa.
Realistically, titles don't matter to the duo after both handled exactly 203 carries and 71 combined receptions last season — and have grown closer since.
“I just do what I do when I’m called upon," Williams said Monday. "Off the field, me and ‘Mel’ are really good friends. We hang out and do everything. It’s not really a big deal.”
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