Cleveland Browns: Predicting Josh Gordon’s success for 2018
How big of an impact can Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon make in 2018? With renewed focus, he could return to the NFL’s elite…
After Josh Gordon returned to the field for the first time since 2014 last season, it felt like he’d never left.
Though NFL fans have been deprived of some of the best years of Gordon’s career due to off-field issues, he’s got a chance to re-establish himself as one of the best in the league at his position.
Gordon appears, by all accounts, to be 100 percent focused on football with zero interest in the life he’s left behind.
Don’t take my word for it…
https://twitter.com/360FFB/status/1004524855084109824
Gordon looks like he’s been training for a role in a Marvel movie even though it looks like that picture on the right was taken during the regular season.
Listed at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, Gordon is cut like a Greek god and obviously has a ton of speed and athleticism to go along with it.
When he came back in 2017, he immediately averaged almost 19 yards per reception with 18 catches on the year.
The Browns were horrible last season, but they still tried to force Gordon the ball, getting him 42 targets.
With a quarterback battle between Tyrod Taylor and Baker Mayfield set to take place over the next couple of months, it’s a little early and very difficult to try and predict Gordon’s season, but we might as well give it a try.
Gordon’s highest usage came in his 2013 season when he led the NFL in receiving yards. He played in just 14 games that season but was targeted a whopping 159 times.
If the Browns are able, they should absolutely return Gordon to that kind of usage in their offense, so long as he’s not struggling with drops.
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They’ll have plenty of other weapons to involve in the offense, not the least of which will be Jarvis Landry, who is now one of the highest paid players on the team.
Landry has been targeted 570 times in his four years in the NFL, including 161 targets this past season.
The Browns could look at getting Gordon and Landry each 150 targets or more while keeping players like David Njoku happy with 90-110 targets.
Cleveland attempted 574 passes last season so projecting at least 400 of those to go to the trio of Josh Gordon, Jarvis Landry, and David Njoku isn’t out of the question. There will be plenty of extra work to go around for players like Corey Coleman, Nick Chubb, and Duke Johnson.
Prediction (for Gordon): 150 targets, 90 receptions, 1,600 yards, 10 TDs
Thos are lofty predictions, and they would obviously set some career marks for Gordon, but this offense can be very potent through the air with him leading the charge.
Gordon is a big play threat and his game will continue to evolve now with him taking football as seriously as he appears to be.