AFC Notes: Melvin Gordon, Broncos, Chargers, Raiders

Broncos

Broncos’ impending free-agent RB Melvin Gordon said he would like to re-sign with the organization and pursue a Super Bowl. 

“I have been wanting to come back. I would love to win championship in Denver. I made a lot of great relationships with the guys. I feel like we have a really good team. To leave a talented team and go somewhere else would suck,” said Gordon, Troy Renck of ABC Denver. “It’s a job unfinished, and we need to finish the job. I would love to stay. I talked with George. We spoke on it. He told me he thinks highly of me. I really like the way he runs things and does things.”

Broncos GM George Paton thinks that Gordon and RB Javonte Williams “helped each other” last season and has had “really good discussions” with Gordon about returning. 

“They helped each other. Melvin was a total pro with Javonte, and I know Javonte appreciated that relationship. I’ve had really good discussions with Melvin. We’d like to have him back. We still think he’s a really good back,” Paton said. “I think you need two or three runners in this league. They’re going to get nicked. It’s a tough position.”

Gordon compared being a veteran running back with the Broncos to when he was learning from former NFL RB Danny Woodhead while on the Chargers earlier in his career. 

“That comes from Danny Woodhead. To his credit, he always looked out for me no matter what. They drafted me in the first round with the Chargers, and anytime I asked Danny for anything, any help, he never held back. He always kept it real,” Gordon said. 

Gordon is hopeful to have a lengthy career similar to veteran RB Frank Gore. 

“They see backs, they think whatever, they get to 30 or high 20s, they feel like they’ve gotta decline. They don’t. I look at Frank Gore’s numbers almost every day. I have it saved in my phone. Year eight, he was still putting up 1,000 yards (1,214). Year nine, he still was putting up 1,000 yards (1,128). That’s kind of how I see my future. I love football. He’s a great person to model after,” Gordon said. “Obviously, health is the biggest thing, and that is in God’s hands.”

Chargers

Chargers HC Brandon Staley said they want to continue “expanding” Justin Herbert‘s knowledge of the game and emphasize his strong points in new packages. 

“He’s got now double the inventory of experiences,” Staley said, via Cory Kennedy of the team’s official site. “He has inventory on all these coordinators like hey, ‘I’ve faced this style of defense and I’ve been in these situations, you know it’s not a big deal for me and I’m just going to keep building.’ Now what we have to keep doing is just keep expanding that knowledge, really emphasize the thing he does well and then onboard a bunch of personnel that can bring out the best in him.”

As for the Chargers’ defense, Staley added that they “really value versatility” and thinks they will add more players in free agency to help their system. 

“I think on defense we really value versatility,” Staley said. “But I think that what we’ve undertaken here and what’s ongoing is just establishing our way of playing from a personnel standpoint and I think that this offseason will allow us to look the way that we want to look.”

Raiders

As soon as the Raiders hired HC Josh McDaniels, a connection was drawn to his history with slot receivers and Raiders WR Hunter Renfrow. Guys like Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, and Danny Amendola have had big seasons under McDaniels, and Renfrow — who already set a career-high with 103 catches in 2021 — could potentially even improve those numbers substantially. 

“He’s there (at the team facility) all the time,” McDaniels said via the Athletic’s Vic Tafur. “He’s as everybody advertised him. He doesn’t necessarily look like a Pro Bowl receiver when you see him walk in the door, but he’s all that. He’s got a great personality, and I am really excited about this opportunity. I have been really blessed to be around some really good slot receivers in my time, and I think coaching him is going to be one of those endeavors where you look back on it and go, ‘This guy was one of those guys.’ … He is a big part of what we want to do.”

• The Raiders had a formal meeting with Utah LB Devin Lloyd at the Combine. (Adam Hill)