Welcome Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin

[vinabolt]

With Gordon you have a 3-down back. With Gurley you might want to take him out on 3rd down or long passing down in favor of Woodhead. It's still a great situation, but if Woodhead goes down again then it's bad.

[Steve]

I think Gordon has the potential to break a lot of long runs because he hits the hole at full speed. And it is a pretty good full speed at that. No wasted motion or wasted energy. Just upfield and past the defenders. It is really hard, no matter what kind of 40 the RB runs, to catch the guy once he has gotten past you. The defenders are either moving forward or standing still, then they have to go in the opposite direction. The important thing is just being able to get past the defenders as quickly as possible and Gordon does that better then any RB in the last few years.

You also can get a lot more yards from guys like Gordon on just the regular plays. They are going hard and break a lot more tackles and get more yards before they go down.

Now, add that kind of 1 big explosive running play per game to our passing game, suddenly there is a huge difference in terms of explosive plays per game, and field position. We can also get back to the ball control stuff, although I think Woodhead will be more valuable for that then Gordon (converting 3rd downs).

You can bet money that Dallas was looking to trade up and get Gordon. They have had a thing for both the top RB, and the Texans are still looking to add picks anywhere they can. There is no proof, but I would be suprised if Dallas wasn't asking everyone after Gurley got taken about trading up.

[vinabolt]

I live in Texas and watch a lot of HOU games. There is no way to be sure that HOU wasn't going to take Gordon. Foster shown signs of decline last year, he is nowhere near the dominance he used to be. And he has been bang up a lot. I'm not sure what HOU management think of Blue but I don't see any special in him. He looks like an average starter to me. The running games is slowly creeping back into the league, and more and more teams nowsday want a committee approach. Chip Kelly signed both Murray and RM while still have serviceable backs on his team. Long gone are the days of 1 RB carry the whole team rushing offense. Teams want their RBs to be as fresh as possible for late season and playoff runs.

I think the "don't draft a RB in first round" thing is start during the height of IND and NE passing games when they scoring all over the league. With the rule changes to benefit the passing game and to protect the QB, they figure that they have better chance to win by passing the ball with their HOF QBs. Soon teams follow suit. This trend made the RB's value went down.

I think the RB's value start to go up again due to the return of the heavy rushing offense. This is start with Mike McCoy when he came to SD and the enter of Chip Kelly offense. McCoy philosophy is to use all the personnel you have and that running game is a part of the game. So while some teams abandon the run, he used the running game to ate up the clock and beat up team like DEN (Manning), IND (Luck) who abandoned the run.

[QSmokey]

So if a third rounder can put up similar production, that's ok?

We're talking about RB. Most overrated position on offense. So yes, if you're a first rounder you better put up special numbers to justify it because you're a luxury position to begin with.

Branden Oliver can put up 1000 yards with 6 TDs behind an upgraded line if that's what you're looking for.

Not sure why RB has gained the dubious distinction of being what you call "the most overrated position on offense". Two years ago, the team was playing well at the end of the year largely in part due to Ryan Mathews playing so well down the stretch. Shrug.

One more thing that needs to be brought to light: It isn't ONLY about stats. It's about the other team having to be concerned about the player; enough so that just being on the field disrupts their game plan. Does Donald Brown bring that to the team? Does Brandon Oliver? Danny Woodhead does. Gordon, if as advertised, will do that, too...only more so. You can't forget about him; you have to game plan to stop/contain him. Sure, a 3rd-round pick MIGHT turn out to be that type of player. But a 3rd-round OT or DT MIGHT turn out to be the next Vince Wilfork, too. All Telesco has done is increase the odds of having an impact. And he doesn't necessarily have to put up 150 yards/game to do that. He might even elevate Rivers' game; the OL's game; the WRs game.

[Bolt-O]

Nice story about MGIII and bestie Trae Waynes ... HS Teammates

http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2015/story/_/id/12748607/melvin-gordon-trae-waynes-give-kenosha-wisconsin-two-first-round-draft-picks

[Fleet]

Foster cant make it through a season. Hes 28 years old. Lots of wear. Hes just fragile. Absofuckinglutely Houston would be interested in Gordon. Stupid not to when you have a team with no QB and only 1 WR. No TE. They have no offense. They are near the top in attempts every year and Foster is the only one who can do anything. They want to run the ball. The only thing they can do. Thats a true rushing offense. That dosnt work for them they got nothing.

[Millionaire Wussy]

Foster cant make it through a season. Hes 28 years old. Lots of wear. Hes just fragile. Absofuckinglutely Houston would be interested in Gordon. Stupid not to when you have a team with no QB and only 1 WR. No TE. They have no offense. They are near the top in attempts every year and Foster is the only one who can do anything. They want to run the ball. The only thing they can do. Thats a true rushing offense. That dosnt work for them they got nothing.

And what if another team trades up at #16 and picks Gordon.

[Fleet]

And what if another team trades up at #16 and picks Gordon.

Im sure other teams wanted to get in front of us. Best for the niners because the only move back a couple slots and get a 4th. They could have gotten a 3rd but then they lose out on Armstead. The player they were rumored to want for a while now.

[Boltx]

Not sure why RB has gained the dubious distinction of being what you call "the most overrated position on offense". Two years ago, the team was playing well at the end of the year largely in part due to Ryan Mathews playing so well down the stretch. Shrug.

One more thing that needs to be brought to light: It isn't ONLY about stats. It's about the other team having to be concerned about the player; enough so that just being on the field disrupts their game plan. Does Donald Brown bring that to the team? Does Brandon Oliver? Danny Woodhead does. Gordon, if as advertised, will do that, too...only more so. You can't forget about him; you have to game plan to stop/contain him. Sure, a 3rd-round pick MIGHT turn out to be that type of player. But a 3rd-round OT or DT MIGHT turn out to be the next Vince Wilfork, too. All Telesco has done is increase the odds of having an impact. And he doesn't necessarily have to put up 150 yards/game to do that. He might even elevate Rivers' game; the OL's game; the WRs game.

I'm not downplaying the importance of an effective running game. Part of why Mathews was effective towards the end of 2013 was because he was finally healthy, and also that guys like Hardwick, Clary (at guard) and Fluker (having a decent rookie year) were providing some solid push up front.

Honestly I like Gordon as a player and a person, but if he comes in and is just a 1000 yard guy with a handful of TDs behind this weak OL then it was kind of a meh pick.

[chargerkdb]

Not sure why RB has gained the dubious distinction of being what you call "the most overrated position on offense". Two years ago, the team was playing well at the end of the year largely in part due to Ryan Mathews playing so well down the stretch. Shrug.

One more thing that needs to be brought to light: It isn't ONLY about stats. It's about the other team having to be concerned about the player; enough so that just being on the field disrupts their game plan. Does Donald Brown bring that to the team? Does Brandon Oliver? Danny Woodhead does. Gordon, if as advertised, will do that, too...only more so. You can't forget about him; you have to game plan to stop/contain him. Sure, a 3rd-round pick MIGHT turn out to be that type of player. But a 3rd-round OT or DT MIGHT turn out to be the next Vince Wilfork, too. All Telesco has done is increase the odds of having an impact. And he doesn't necessarily have to put up 150 yards/game to do that. He might even elevate Rivers' game; the OL's game; the WRs game.

I second this post

[KNSD]

Ryan Mathews had 4.5 ypc, Oliver has 3.6. This gives you an idea on how important a good RB is to the Charger offense.

PLAYER ATT YDS YDS/ATT LONG TD
Branden Oliver 160 582 3.6 52 3
Ryan Mathews 74 330 4.5 32 3
Donald Brown 85 223 2.6 16 0
Ronnie Brown 14 59 4.2 11 0
Danny Woodhead 15 38 2.5 13 0

IF what Telesco is saying is true, then IMO Gordon being able to pass block will also help this team greatly since Oliver was very subpar in that area.

So yeah, it's a big deal.

Feel free to insert "Donald Brown" for "Oliver" above. Donald Brown royally screwed the pooch last season with a piss-poor performance while also getting Scifres killed. Oliver was at least somewhat productive.

[vinabolt]

According to Bryan Fischer of nfl.com, there are rumors about HOU's interest in Gordon.