After being reinstated by the NFL, Josh Gordon signed with the Kansas City Chiefs on September 27th, but he’s yet to scratch the surface of his potential.
Through seven games with his new squad, Gordon has only caught two passes for 18 yards although he’s only been targeted six times. Despite his lack of production on the stat sheets, his snap count is making a consistent rise and he’s starting to get on the field more as the season has gone on.
In his debut game against Buffalo, you might remember his crucial catch on a third-and-long. That would help get the Chiefs into Bills’ territory leading to a Pringle touchdown. This would be his only catch over the next six games in the red and white.
Gordon showed promise early on in his career. After being drafted in 2012 in the NFL Supplemental Draft, he was a favorite target for rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden. Playing in all 16 games for the Browns, he totaled 805 yards and five touchdowns during his rookie campaign.
The following season, despite being suspended for the first two games he led the NFL in receiving yards with 1,646 yards, earning a Pro Bowl nod as well as a First-Team All-Pro selection. Gordon also reeled in nine touchdowns while averaging 117.6 yards per game.
With the resurgence of the Chiefs offense in the past weeks, opportunities are bound to come sooner or later for Gordon. Both Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce demand attention from Patrick Mahomes, especially in the red zone. The Kansas City offense has been seeking another weapon to step up receiving the ball outside of those two players.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire coming back will help that side of the ball in more ways than not. In his first game back he found the endzone while turning 14 touches into 76 yards. He will continue to see an increased role down the stretch.
Andy Reid said in an interview that Gordon’s time in the offense is coming. The thought is that he will continue to see his snaps increase throughout the season. The fact that they’ve been constantly going up is definitely trending in the right direction.
The question is: When will Gordon’s time come? The simple answer is hopefully soon. With the Chiefs’ offense continuing to improve it will require defenses to spend more attention on Hill and Kelce. This will open up opportunities for Gordon to shine.
The talent is definitely there. Now he’s not the same player that was tabbed a spot on the All-Pro team. He provides another big target for Mahomes. This is something that the Chiefs’ have been looking to fill over the past couple of seasons especially after they let Sammy Watkins walk in the offseason.
While Gordon hasn’t brought much attention to himself yet from what little information Reid has shared, it sounds like he’ll be ready if/when his name is called within the offense.
