Melvin Gordon snubbed from NFL Top 100 List
By Anthony Totri
Each year the NFL has players vote to rank the top 100 players in the league. Nearly every season some of the most talented athletes don’t make the list. This year, Melvin Gordon was wrongly put on the chopping block.
Chargers RB Melvin Gordon was highly criticized in his rookie season for being indecisive and undeserving of his 15th overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft. He responded this past season by galloping to pay dirt 12 times in LaDainian Tomlinson-type fashion.
Gordon’s 10 rushing touchdowns placed seventh among tailbacks and despite missing three games, he rushed for 997 yards.
Not only was he three yards shy of 1,000, but he ran behind one of the most injury-plagued offensive line units in recent history.
His season-best performance came in Week 9 against the Tennessee Titans where he ran for 196 yards and accumulated 261 total yards, which is 10 yards shy of Tomlinson’s franchise record of 271 yards.
It’s possible an offensive line group that was on the field and not in the training room may have allowed Gordon to be a 1,200-yard rusher. Not to mention the impact Danny Woodhead or Branden Oliver could’ve had if they were healthy enough to give Gordon a rest.
The final 10 names on the list will be announced tonight, two of which are running backs. Rounding out the Top 100 with a total of nine tailbacks.
Top 10: Le’Veon Bell & Ezekiel Elliott
No. 12: David Johnson
No. 27: LeSean McCoy
No. 33: DeMarco Murray
No. 41: Devonta Freeman
No. 69: Jay Ajayi
No. 80: LeGarrette Blount
No. 98: Adrian Peterson
Several of those backs deserve to be on the list, but whether you look at the numbers or not, Gordon earned a right to be considered one of the best 100 players in the NFL.
Although the Chargers’ leading rusher missed the cut for Top 100, he found himself put on the “Top 100 Best of the Rest” list. Gordon was dubbed the leagues’ 116th best player.
The NFL’s prestigious ranking index of players features Chargers’ 2016 first-round pick and Defensive Rookie of the Year Joey Bosa at No. 100. According to the rankings, former Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt, No. 35 on the list, must’ve done a whole lot with his three games played all season.
“I played 3 games… this list is a joke,” Watt said in a tweet after his name was revealed.