Melvin Gordon Fantasy Outlook Comes With Underwhelming Value in 2021

Running back Melvin Gordon finished the 2020 season just a few carries away from having a 1,000-yard campaign.

He has played well as the Denver Broncos' starter, but the team is likely looking another way in 2021. That leaves Gordon with underwhelming value in fantasy football leagues.

Melvin Gordon Fantasy Outlook

Gordon finished as the No. 14 RB in PPR leagues last season mostly due to the fact that he got into the end zone 10 times (9 rushing & 1 receiving). The only problem is that the veteran ball-carrier is not going to see the 16.5 touches per game he averaged last year thanks to some moves made by the front office.

The Broncos made a splash in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft by trading up to grab UNC running back Javonte Williams. The rookie has been splitting carries with Gordon during training camp and shined in Denver's first preseason game racking up 29 yards on 5 carries (3 broken tackles).

Williams will take over the receiving role in the backfield at the very least. He averaged 10.8 yards per reception over the course of three college seasons. Meanwhile, Gordon posted a career-low 158 receiving yards last season and averaged only 3.6 yards per target.

It's still a possibility that Gordon maintains the No. 1 RB spot on this team, but that's looking like a stretch right now. His value simply comes from his ability to score touchdowns and he is set to lose some goal line work to Williams as well as veteran Mike Boone once he gets healthy.

Melvin Gordon ADP

Gordon has an average draft position of No. 79 overall and No. 31 amongst RBs in PPR leagues, according to FantasyPros. The 28-year-old is nothing but a FLEX play at this point and lacks any kind of RB2 upside unless someone goes down with an injury.

Gordon checks in at RB27 in The Duel's 2021 fantasy football rankings.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.