The misuse of Melvin Gordon highlights the Broncos biggest problem
Sep 23, 2020, 6:00 AM
The misuse of Melvin Gordon continues to be both amazing and confusing. The Broncos brought in the running back for a few clear reasons. They needed an upgrade in the red zone, short yardage, pass protection and pass catching at the position. Gordon continues to get carries, but situationally, the Broncos have unquestionably misused him.
An obvious situation that stands out is when it was third-and-two on a potential game-winning drive at the end of the Steelers game and instead of handing it off to Gordon, the running back the Broncos paid $8 million to this year, Denver make Jeff Driskel try and convert. It made no sense.
The Broncos pulled a similar head scratching moment last week when they refused to hand it off on the one-yard line against the Titans. Denver failed to convert on four attempts from point-blank range.
Gordon broke the most tackles in the NFL from 2016-18, and had more than 45 catches per season during the past five years. He has five catches in two games so far in 2020, although one was a beautiful touchdown from Driskel in Pittsburgh.
There have been multiple short-yardage situations in 2020 where Gordon was standing on the sideline. Why pay a player the money you paid Gordon, then not use him in situations where he shines?
It all comes back to offensive identity. The Broncos do not have one, and it becomes clearer every week. This team does not know if it wants to be a run-first team or fill the air with footballs. They will pay a running back $8 million to not use him in the situations where he excels, and they’ll draft two wide receivers in rounds one and two, only to have them combine for seven catches in a game.
You can load up on talent all you want, but without an identity, none of it will matter. Sometimes, keeping it simple is the correct way to run an offense.
Even if Drew Lock hadn’t gotten injured, the Broncos should still rely on Gordon in those key third-and-short situations. It all comes back to figuring out whom you are and what you want to do on the offensive side of the ball.
If the Broncos cannot do that, we will continue to see the misuse of Melvin Gordon and other players on this offense.
