RADIO
The long road back to reinstatement for talented receiver Josh Gordon just got a little longer. On May 11, the NFL announced that Gordon's request for immediate reinstatement was denied. He will have to continue rehabilitation and prove without a shadow of a doubt that he will not be a repeat offender to the league's substance abuse policy.
In spite of the fact Gordon hasn't seen the field since 2014, was still being drafted in many MFL10 leagues. His superb 2013 season was enough to convince fantasy owners that he is worth the risk. At this point, with yet another setback, is it time to permanently give up on the talented but troubled wideout?
Here's a look at the fantasy implications of Josh Gordon's denial for reinstatement to the NFL.
Josh Gordon's Track Record
Gordon has become a fantasy football phenom on the strength of one incredible season. At this point, he is more legend than star because he hasn't actually done anything for fantasy owners the last couple of years other than waste a perfectly good draft pick. That one season was pretty impressive, you have to admit though. In 2013, he hauled in a league-leading 1,646 yards and 117.6 yards per game. The most impressive part is that he did this in Cleveland with a combination of Jason Campbell, Brandon Weeden, and Brian Hoyer at QB. That trio combined for a 55.7% completion rate and 26/20 TD/INT rate, yet Gordon earned First Team All-Pro status. You can see why expectations were so high heading into 2014. In dynasty startup leagues, he was typically a top-three overall pick that season, only behind superstars like Megatron and All-Day AP (thereby ruining many dynasty franchises for years to come).
Physically, Gordon has the ideal combination of speed and size to make him a threat down the field and in the red zone. At 6'3", 225 lbs, Gordon has the size to win one-on-one matchups with any cornerback. He isn't a pure speed-burner, only logging a 4.57 time in the 40-yard dash, but at his size that translates to an excellent speed score of 106. He certainly proved that in his brief time in the league, scoring 11 of his 14 touchdowns from 30 yards or more. Four of those 14 TD went for over 70 yards. That's the kind of player that can help win you a week of fantasy football single-handedly.
Now comes the disappointing part where we stray off the field. Gordon has been suspended by the NFL four different times. The longest of those suspensions, for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, took away his entire 2015 season. He had been conditionally reinstated by Roger Goodell on July 25, with a four-game suspension to start the season to give him a chance to prove he could stay clean and sober. Just when it looked like he might return to the field for the rest of 2016, it was suddenly announced that Gordon would be entering rehab, which means he likely violated the the terms of his recovery program again. The recent denial for reinstatement in May shows that the league is more than skeptical of his progress. While the door is still open for a potential return at some point, this is a huge setback for Gordon personally and a big blow to his fantasy stock. Then there are the Browns...
The Need for Hands in "The Land"
Cleveland has been a laughingstock of the NFL long before their best WR was taken away from them. The Browns have not made the playoffs since 2002, only posting one winning record in the last 15 years. Despite the aforementioned trio of mediocre quarterbacks the team was trotting out (and still is), they at least thought they had found a bona fide star at a skill position. Just when Gordon was ready to hit his prime, the window of opportunity quickly slammed shut and has not reopened since.
Since finishing ninth in total receiving yards in 2013, Gordon's last full season, the Browns haven't ranked in the top half of the league since. They hit a low of 27th in receiving yardage last year. There hasn't been a single receiver that has come close to replicating Gordon's success in the same situation either. In 2014, the year Gordon first went AWOL, Andrew Hawkins led the team in receiving with 824 yards. The next season it was tight end Gary Barnidge who was the go-to player (79 receptions, 1,043 yards), but no wide receiver reached 1,000 yards. Travis Benjamin, now the WR5 on the Chargers, was closest with 966 yards. Last season, Pryor barely eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark, but he has since moved on to Washington.
There's no doubt that if Gordon were reinstated, he could jump straight into the WR1 spot on the Browns immediately. This is a team that had a rookie (Corey Coleman) and a converted quarterback (Terrelle Pryor) as their top two wideouts last season. While many fantasy owners are high on those two players due to their respective skill sets, the truth is that on any other team they both would have been sitting behind established receivers and used as situational players in three-receiver sets instead. Pryor will now be catching passes from Kirk Cousins and will have a chance to shine. Coleman is the closest thing Cleveland has to a potential true WR1, but he missed six games due to injury and only finished with 33 receptions. Kenny Britt is the sleeper here due to his projected target share, but keep in mind he recorded the first 1,000-yard season of his career at age 28 by a margin of two (68 catches, 1,002 yards). Compared to the previous success held by Gordon, it's still a steep drop-off.
Conclusion
Some receivers benefit from a high-volume passing attack or simply fit into a system where they can immediately find targets. Think New Orleans, Green Bay, or New England. The last several seasons have come and go with no Browns player able to come close to the success Gordon had for one glorious season. Unfortunately, that may be our last memory of him on the playing field. He hasn't been able to shake his demons in the battle with alcohol addiction, or at least not to the league's satisfaction. Gordon is eligible to reapply for reinstatement this fall, which means this saga is far from over. It could truly go either way, depending on how Gordon proceeds this summer. Fantasy owners tempted to take a flier on Gordon should keep in mind that the league may be disinclined to accept his next appeal as well and he would still have to work his way into game shape, learn the playbook, and achieve chemistry with whoever happens to be at quarterback for the Browns. Hope springs eternal in fantasy sports, but the legend of Josh Gordon is best left as just that.
