Phillip Lindsay, despite missing a good chunk of this season, is the Denver Broncos’ best running back.
Phillip Lindsay was knocked out of the Week 7 game with the Kansas City Chiefs after a helmet-to-helmet shot left him concussed. Up to that point, he had racked up 79 yards rushing on just nine carries.
Melvin Gordon ran for just 68 yards on 17 carries. While Gordon did score a touchdown in the game, he also fumbled the ball twice. That’s inexcusable.
It’s true that the Broncos needed another running back to spell the smallish Lindsay, but what was wrong with Royce Freeman? I asked this last week, and it’s still difficult to argue against, but Gordon probably wasn’t the best answer.
Lindsay has had issues staying on the field this season, dealing with a turf toe and now a concussion. But in his first three seasons in the league, that is literally the only knock you can make against him.
After back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons as an undrafted player, he has outshined Gordon this season when you compare what each player has done. Of course, the idea behind the Gordon signing was that the team would have both running backs to use together.
Injuries have made that difficult, but just this number alone shows what each man has done — Gordon is averaging 4.3 yards per carry while Lindsay averages 5.2 yards per tote. Lindsay is getting an additional yard on the ground on average.
With the Los Angeles Chargers, Gordon ran into a similar situation.
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Of course, he took himself off the field while in a contract dispute, but when the Chargers turned to Austin Ekeler, also an undrafted player, they never looked back. Gordon was a first-round pick, but Ekeler was the better running back. Like, it wasn’t even close.
The same seems to be true in Denver with Lindsay. He runs the ball with more aggression and seems to find open running lanes on a more regular basis than Gordon.
If Lindsay needs to miss more time, the team will continue to roll with Gordon. But the rushing attack is clearly more effective with Lindsay carrying the ball.
There were many who questioned the move to sign Gordon this offseason when the team already had Lindsay in place. To this point, those complaints have been accurate for the most part.
Oh, and Lindsay has yet to ever fumble in his career.