Fantasy Football: Houston Texans should target Melvin Gordon in free agency

Melvin Gordon hits NFL free agency this offseason and the Houston Texans would be a team to rejuvenate his fantasy football dominance.

After coughing up a 24-point lead in the Divisional Round playoffs against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Houston Texans are entering a pivotal offseason under newly appointed general manager (and head coach) Bill O’Brien. The 10-6 Houston squad brought home the 2019 AFC South title, led mostly by young quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Outside of Watson, however, the team ranked ninth in total rushing yards and 14th in total passing yards, but it is clear the team needs more firepower if they expect to continue to compete in the competitive AFC.

Entering this offseason with around $61 million in cap space, the ninth most in the league according to Over The Cap, Houston’s running back room should see a major area of focus and improvement. Lamar Miller and Carlos Hyde are both unrestricted free agents, leaving Duke Johnson as Houston’s lone running back with quality NFL experience.

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Seeing that the team traded away their first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, among other selections, as part of a deal for offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil, finding significant help for the running back position through the draft may be difficult without trading up.

Enter Melvin Gordon. The 26-year-old is just one year out from his top-six running back performance in 2018, one that granted him the No. 34 spot on the NFL Top 100. This, along with his top-four finish in 2017, prompted him to hold out before the 2019 season in search of a new deal from the Los Angeles Chargers.

This holdout led to Gordon missing the first four games of the 2019 season and seeing a large part of his given to Austin Ekeler. In the 12 games Gordon played last season, he still racked in a modest 42 catches through the air and eight touchdowns on the ground, totaling 120.6 standard fantasy football points in 12 games and ranking him RB28 on the year.

For comparison’s sake, Hyde ranked as RB20 on the year with 141.9 points and Johnson ranked as RB38 with 98.3. With a full 16-game season — and an offseason to get in shape and acclimated to the offense, Gordon’s fantasy football value with the Texans would get quite a boost.

Gordon’s presence would also take some pressure off wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who totaled 203.8 points in 2019 as the fourth-most targeted receiver in the NFL. Deep threats Kenny Stills and Will Fuller could also see more room to work with, as defenders may want to potentially stack the box against Gordon.

Houston signing Gordon would help the team’s chances of making another playoff push in 2020. Joining Watson and Hopkins, along with an offensive line that saw significant improvement last year, Gordon’s addition could make Houston’s offensive unit one of the scariest in the league.

With a move to Houston, expect Gordon to see himself back into the early first-round fantasy football discussion in 2020.