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Originally posted by wu-dai clan
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Agree...we cannot let Ekkie go like we let Sproles go...and I think we can retain him for a reasonable price... -
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Boze...Center of AttentionComment
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I'm honestly hoping we sign both Ekeler and Hunter before the start of free agency and never find out.Originally posted by wu-dai clan View PostComment
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In Ekkie's case, I'd rather get him signed for the next 4 years rather than go to a tender. Ekkie's value to the team is considerable...Originally posted by richpjr View PostComment
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rich, cat everyone...
article this am at The Draft Network
re MG III.
Talks #'s, skills he brings, landing spots.
Boze...Center of AttentionComment
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As long as he lands not at LAC.Comment
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Thanks for the heads up, Wood! Here u go:Originally posted by wu-dai clan View Post
2020 Free Agent Profile: Running Back Melvin Gordon
How much do running backs really matter? We're about to find out in a month or so when Los Angeles Chargers’ Melvin Gordon hits the market.
It's a popular trend to beat up on or de-emphasize the running back position. For those who have a strict analytical approach to return on value, it's hard to argue against it. When it comes to maximizing return on investment with things like carries and offensive touches, not to mention the percentage of funds a rusher is using in a team's total salary cap space, running backs are on a downward trend of being worth high price tags as the game evolves to much more of a passing league.
Numbers have proven that passing the ball gives you higher chances to travel further and score more on a play-by-play basis. The passing game still needs the run game but not like it used to. Teams like the San Francisco 49ers and Tennessee Titans showed the world that an emphasis on the ground can not only get you into the playoff but yield upsets and Super Bowl berths. But, in the end, both of those teams fell to superior passing attacks.
Over the past few years, players like Todd Gurley II, David Johnson and, more specifically for this situation, Le'Veon Bell have set the market for high-end running back contracts. Those three along with Dallas Cowboys' Ezekiel Elliott are the only four backs in the NFL making more than $10 per year. Johnson makes an even $13 million, Gurley comes in at $13.125 million, Bell $14.375 million and Elliott leads them all at $15 million flat.
The Chargers are in quite the transition time. Though their head coach, Anthony Lynn, just got an extension through 2021, they are moving on from long-time quarterback Philip Rivers. This shakes up not only the look of the team's salary cap but perhaps also where it prioritizes value on the roster.
But things with Gordon, who turns 27 in April, go beyond just contract talks here and now. Entering the 2019 offseason, Gordon made it clear that if the Chargers did not give him a new deal he would hold out and/or demand to be traded, rather than play out the final year of his current contract.
On July 16, 2019, Gordon said: "I want to end up with the Chargers, I mean, that's my home. I'm not going to sit here and be like, ‘I don't want to go back to the Chargers.’ That's the team who blessed me with an opportunity. They changed my life. Out of all 32 teams, that was the team that called. I can't forget them for that."
But Gordon also made it clear that he "knew his value" and had a goal of being paid Gurley and Johnson numbers.
As the offseason and training camp came to an end, Gordon did not get that new deal and continued his holdout into the regular season — while the Cowboys, in that same time period, made Elliott the highest-paid running back in the league. Gordon ended his holdout after Week 4 and played 12 games in 2019. But those games didn't seem to make his future any more clear.
Gordon, as well as anyone, knows that the lack of contract talks and the big changes at quarterback could mean he might not be in the Chargers' heavy investment plans, at least not as much as he might get elsewhere. But when asked after the season whether or not he still wanted to be in L.A., his answer was similar to the one he gave during the summer.
"Of course," Gordon told reporters. "They drafted me and changed my life. They took a bet on me; took a chance on me when 31 other teams could have and passed me up. They're like your first love so to speak. I want to be here, man. I got great relationships with everybody around here. I love everyone from [the locker room] to the people on the staff, in the training room, to the equipment guys. I got a relationship with everybody around here, not just the guys in here. Hopefully, we can work it out. But like I know, as y'all know, as everybody else knows, it's a business and we got to figure out where things go. I'm just really sitting back, man. I'm open to this whole thing and I'm a little nervous, as everybody is whose contract is up. Hopefully, it works out for the best."
Can the former first-round pick and two-time Pro Bowl player be the next to cross the $10 million mark? Perhaps even become the highest-paid running back in the league? Let's break his situation down into details.
Where He Wins
When it comes to maximizing value, you have to be able to do it all. Running backs whose only impact is when the ball is placed at their gut sweeten only one-third of the pie. Backs need to be more in today's game. They need to be good route runners, good actors when selling play action, have natural hands and be a run blocker and pass protector.
As a rusher, Gordon's best work came in 2016 and 2017, his second and third seasons in the league. He was top-10 when it came to rushing yards per game and top-five in each when it came to yards and carries per game. In 2018 he missed four due to an MCL sprain, and in 2019 he missed four again due to a holdout. His production suffered in both those seasons.
Gordon has a determined running style. At 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, he is no easy assignment. He is not a player who shies towards contact, and yet does what he can with some quick feet to try to avoid it when open space is available. Gordon's 93rd percentile in the 20-yard shuttle and 98th percentile in the 60-yard shuttle showed evidence of that in the pre-draft process. He is more explosive in short areas than he is a burner with long speed, but true long speed isn't a necessity to be a worth-while running back. Gordon is a good athlete in the right areas to be a difference maker -- the skill isn't in question, just the price of what you pay for it.
In the passing game, Gordon has had a presence all five years he's been in the league. He has been a top-10 back when it comes to targets per game in all but two seasons — his rookie season and his latest one in 2019. This, along with Gordon's ability to be used as a blocker, round out his game and make him a true three-down back. Such an ability can allow a team to gain maximum value when it comes to snaps in any situation.
Potential Red Flags
Though Gordon does have a go-getter kind of game to him, his statistics have never been "eye-popping" or elite at any point in time, even at his best. He has only eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark once in his career, and his yards-per-carry average has been under four for all but one season (2018).
Gordon has also only played a full 16-game season just once (2017). We already highlighted the MCL injury (2018) and holdout (2019) over the last two years. But he also missed the final three games of the 2016 season after suffering hip and knee injuries. If you add the 631 carries in his four-year college career to the 1,059 carries he's had in the NFL, Gordon has put some wear and tear on his body and has already had injuries to show for it.
Market Value
This is where things get tricky. He's a good back, when healthy, who can help a team in a variety of ways. But Gordon has made it clear that he wants to be paid over the $10-million mark like Johnson, Gurley, Bell and Elliott.
Spotrac has Gordon's 2020 free-agent value at $11.7 million. Gordon probably wouldn't be happy with that number, but his case for making above $13 million per year like those other four is not great. He doesn’t have an elite year or top-of-the-position statistics to bring to the negotiation table. In 2016, Johnson had over 2,000 all-purpose yards with 20 touchdowns. In 2017 and 2018, Gurley led the NFL in rushing touchdowns with 13 and 17, respectively. In 2014, 2016 and 2017, Bell rushed for over 1,200 yards each year while averaging more than 100 targets for a 16-game stretch, something no other back was doing. As for Elliott, in all four seasons he's been in the league, he's been top-10 in rushing yards while claiming two rushing titles — one in 2016 and the other in 2018.
For as well-rounded as Gordon's game is, he does not have that signature year or "X-factor" in his value that he can bring to the table during negotiations. And even if he did like one of those other guys, we've recently seen in the news that the Cardinals and Rams are thinking of moving on from Johnson and Gurley, likely due to a lack of return on that high investment. That could seriously affect Gordon's leverage, too. All that is why I believe he'll ultimately fall short of that $13-plus million per year range those other four are in.
Potential Landing Spots
Los Angeles Chargers
There is still a chance Gordon could be back with the Chargers next season. One could argue that, especially with a new quarterback in the building, the team is going to want some consistency on offense. It's also not a great visual to just let your former first-round pick walk for nothing more than you not wanting to pay them.
The Chargers have the 12th most cap space in the league entering the offseason. If they go out and sign a veteran quarterback — one who gives them the chance to compete — that will take up a good chunk of change. But outside of Rivers, who they already said they're not bringing back, they really don't have anyone that would break the bank to hinder Gordon's case.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are an interesting choice. On one hand, it seems like the team could be moving on from Peyton Barber and will need someone to not only split carries with Ronald Jones II but perhaps even outplay him if Jones does not continue to improve. From a talent or need perspective, the Buccaneers are an option.
But on the other hand, they will not have a ton of cap space to work with after they take care of some of their guys. Shaq Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul and Ndamukong Suh are all unrestricted free agents. Tampa Bay has already said it wants to bring back as much of its front seven as it can — signing two top pass rushers won't come without a price.
There is also the decision regarding quarterback Jameis Winston. On one side of the coin, if the Bucs bring Winston back, they're going to want to surround him with as many offensive weapons as possible to succeed. But on the other, doing so may take so much of their cap — at least $27 million — that they might not have a lot to do so outside of the draft. An option, but some layers there.
Houston Texans
Carlos Hyde had a nice season for the Houston Texans, the first 1,000-yard year of his career. But at age 30, do the Texans want to bring him back? As for Lamar Miller, he's 28 and is coming off an ACL injury that cost him his entire 2019 season. The Texans have the ninth-most cap space in the NFL going into free agency. This, along with their need to upgrade at running back, could make them a suitor for Gordon's services.
https://www.thedraftnetwork.com/arti...ree-agent-2020Comment
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TY cat.
I am linkless.
It sounds like Gordon may end up
in Tampa with Rivers !Boze...Center of AttentionComment
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reading that article it seems less likely for him to land in TB than in Houston. TB needs a QB and that'll take up a large chunk of cap in addition to mg. Houston has more cap space. but in any case I dont care if he doesnt come back to the bolts after all the bitchin and disrespect. IMO he's not worth north of 10mil. IMO no more than 8mil. the article brought up some things that show he is "lower upper end", not upper end RB.Comment
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If I were him i'd consider taking a discount to join rival Chiefs
IACK
Tuli45Tuipulotu adopted: 16solo 6sacks 1ffComment
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He’s not worth a penny to us.Comment
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