Does Chargers RB Melvin Gordon deserve a spot on NFL’s Top 100?

Chargers RB Melvin Gordon had a pretty good 2017 season. Will he make the cut on NFL’s ‘Top 100 Players’ list?

NFL Top 100 shouldn’t be taken seriously.

It’s a list that is voted on by the players themselves. It comes with some funny on-camera interviews and cool production, but that’s about it. Some players that you think would go higher don’t; some players that you think would make it won’t.

Nos. 41-100 have been revealed thus far. Four Chargers have already been named: Defensive end Melvin Ingram (No. 76), cornerback Casey Hayward (No. 59), quarterback Philip Rivers (No. 56) and wide receiver Keenan Allen (No. 41). While I don’t agree with where these guys are ranked, they happen to be the Chargers’ best players and deserve to make the list after their 2017 performance.

Nos. 1-40 will be revealed in the coming weeks. It’s fair to assume that DE Joey Bosa will be the next Charger to be announced.

He’s arguably the team’s best player, so when he gets voted in, it’ll be very unlikely to see any other Charger selected after him. Which leads to…

Does Melvin Gordon belong on the Top 100? It appears as if he’s not going to make it, but he was a playmaker for the Chargers.

Gordon played a full, 16-game season for the first time in his career. He rushed for 1,105 yards, seventh-most among all running backs, and had eight rushing touchdowns, tied for sixth-most among backs. He also caught 58 balls for 476 yards and four touchdowns, all of which were career highs. Among RBs, only Alvin Kamara, Todd Gurley, Duke Johnson, Le’Veon Bell, Christian McCaffrey and Chris Thompson had more receiving yards than Gordon; only two of those backs (Bell and Gurley) had 1,000-yard rushing seasons like Gordon to go along with the receiving total.

The Chargers fed Gordon a lot, but he was reliable. He accounted for 58 first downs, second-most on the team behind wide receiver Keenan Allen (excludes Philip Rivers). And according to Pro Football Focus, Gordon forced the second-most missed tackles among backs.

His 3.9 yards-per-carry average is the main issue. It’s clear he still needs to work on his vision. However, he put up solid numbers behind an offensive line that couldn’t run block. I bet most running backs would fail.

There’s a ton of good football players out there, but Gordon should get a bit more respect. Even though it’s all but certain to happen, I don’t see how you can leave Gordon out of your Top 100.