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Is Melvin Gordon a top 5 running back?

To say Gordon’s rookie season was ugly is an understatement; it was downright dreadful. The 2015 campaign saw Gordon rush for 641 yards on 184 carries in 14 games played. Furthermore, he recorded zeros in touchdowns and 100-yard rushing games, with his season-high of 88 yards coming in Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

For a running back that rushed for 2,587 yards and 29 touchdowns at the University of Wisconsin in 2014, this was unexpected, especially given that the Chargers invested their first-round pick in 2015 on the former Badger.

Sean Tomlinson may have articulated Gordon’s rookie season best in his July 2016 article that analyzed if he can avoid the dreaded ‘ draft bust’ label in his second season:

Gordon’s rookie year looked like what would happen if a truck carrying only large containers of salad dressing rolled over on the highway.