Melvin Gordon is a running back for the National Football League’s Denver Broncos. During his junior year at Bradford High School, he accumulated 1,098 yards and 11 touchdowns on just 99 tries.
As a result of his five receiving touchdowns, the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association gave him an honourable mention on both the state and regional all-star teams (WFCA).
He rushed for 2,009 yards and 38 touchdowns in his senior year, garnering first-team All-state recognition from the WFCA and Associated Press. While a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he played football for the Wisconsin Badgers.
He participated in three games as a freshman in 2011 and ran 20 times for 98 yards and a touchdown. He waived his last year of NCAA eligibility in 2015 and went undrafted. He gained 251 yards on the ground in his last college game. The San Diego Chargers chose Gordon with the 15th overall choice in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
He agreed to a two-year, $16 million contract with the Denver Broncos in March 2020. In Week 1’s matchup with the Tennessee Titans, he made his Broncos debut. He ran 15 times for 78 yards and a rushing touchdown during the contest. Gordon re-signed with the Broncos on April 27, 2022, for a single season.
How Good Is Melvin Gordon?
Before Oklahoma Sooners running back Samaje Perine of the Kansas Jayhawks broke it the following week with 427 yards against Nebraska, Gordon briefly held the NCAA Division I FBS single-game rushing yards record with 408 yards, set while playing in three quarters against Nebraska in November 2014. With 2,587 yards, he passed Barry Sanders’ 1988 record of 2,628 yards for the most rushing yards in a single season in FBS history to become the second-most prolific rusher of all time.
Was Melvin Gordon a Heisman finalist?
Yes, he was. Melvin Gordon ended up as a runner-up to Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota in the 2014 Heisman Trophy voting announced in New York.