ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — On the second day of practice, Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett was asked how he’s going to split reps between his two running backs, Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon.
“We’re going to need both of those guys. We’re going to need all those guys. All those running backs are doing such a great job. They all do a couple things a little bit different,” he said. “Javonte goes in there first. Melvin, to me—hey, we want to get them both the ball quite a bit because they’re both very good football players and I love how both of those guys are coming along.”
Was Hackett just talking about Williams getting the first practice reps? Maybe.
But Williams was the first back on the field in team drills in all but one practice of camp, and it’s easy to read into that. Gordon has.
“To be honest, I think they kind of have a plan of what they want heading in,” he said. “As far as the rotation goes, I really don’t know. They want ‘Vonte to probably be the guy, but we do rotate.”
Accepting what is likely to be the No. 2 job won’t come easy for Gordon. He’s been the starter every season of his NFL career and for his last two seasons at Wisconsin. That’s nine consecutive seasons of being the top option in the backfield.
Last season Gordon started over Williams, then a second-round rookie, for the entire season. They split the touches though, with both backs picking up 203 carries apiece. Gordon gained 15 more yards than Williams on those carries but Williams gained more yards from scrimmage because he caught more passes.
Based on how the reps have been split in camp and the team’s first depth chart, which came out last week, Gordon is likely to be the second back. Being a starter matters to him.
“It matters. I’m a competitor, man,” he said. “I want to do all the right things, say all the right things, (but) you kind of know what it is at times, unfortunately. I’m still a competitor at the end of the day. You take that away, the love’s kind of gone.”
Gordon doesn’t deserve to be a second back. He has the second-most yards of any running back in the NFL since 2015, behind only Ezekiel Elliott. He has the fourth-most touchdowns in that time but the leader, Derrick Henry, only has two more than him. While two Pro Bowls in seven seasons is probably below expectations for the 15th-overall pick, it’s not all that far off.
All Gordon can do is keep performing.
“You never know how the future will play out with anything, but you just have to go out there and ball out,” he said. “You have to make every opportunity count, whether it’s the same or less than last year. I know when I get in there, I have to make it count and that’s all that matters.”
Regardless of his role, Gordon says he won’t lose focus of his biggest goal.
“I have to do what it takes—’Hack’ told me coming in, it’s about the Super Bowl,” he said. “It’s about winning the Super Bowl and we are going to do whatever is best for the team. I’m bought into that 100 percent because I want the ring more than anything.”
