NFL Draft 2015: 5 teams that screwed up Day 1
By Will Osgood
- San Diego Chargers—Traded up two spots, gave up two late round picks to take Melvin Gordon
As bad as the Broncos moving up to take Shane Ray five slots was dumb, it appears their division rival—the San Diego Chargers—made an equally questionable choice by trading up just two spots for running back Melvin Gordon, the Heisman Trophy runner-up in 2014.
Gordon is great. He was worth a first-round pick. Really he made sense exactly where the Chargers were slotted, 17. But moving up just two spots and giving up additional picks? It seems nonsensical. Were the Texans going to select Gordon?
Perhaps. He would have been a good fit there to eventually replace Arian Foster—and for now as third down back with slightly more of a role than the traditional third down back.
All that said, as much as it was terrible value for the Chargers, Gordon should fit very well in San Diego. The reason San Diego is on this list is due much more to the fact they gave up picks to move up two slots than an indictment on Gordon.
In fact, he could easily be one of the best offensive players from this draft when all is said and done.
It’s also an indictment, or the result of the fact that few teams made unwise decisions in the first-round. This just happens to be one of the five most puzzling for the reasons already stated.
Next: Just not a very good player