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Where are Zeke and Melvin Gordon going in your drafts? (1 Viewer)

JamesonSkittles

Footballguy
just curious where these 2 are going in your drafts.  I had my first of 5 drafts last night.  Zeke went 4th overall. Gordon went in the 7th round.  

 
Drafted last Saturday for my main league- classic old timers league where we meet in person, get drunk, eat, etc. Some of them are sharp but there are some donkeys as well. Zeke went 4th (it is standard scoring) and he said it was the plight of having 4 this year, just have to plug your nose and jump in because Zeke has such a big upside. Another guy (biggest donk) took Gordon at 9. The place went silent when he made it, we could not believe it. After he picked, we confirmed to make sure he knew Gordon was holding out. He had this crazy theory that it was good Gordon was holding out because he always gets hurt around week 13. So if he takes 4 weeks of preseason off and maybe 2 or 3 games of the season off, he will be healthy down the stretch and healthy Melvin Gordon is as good as it gets for fantasy. 

 
Drafted on Tuesday, ten team redraft league.  Zeke went 8, Gordon went 1st pick in the 6th to a team on autodraft.  He was going to be mine mid/late 5th, but took Ingram instead.

Ekler went in 10th, Pollard in 13th - both by me.

 
1.09 and 8.08 - draft was 5 days ago

Pollard went un-drafted and I picked him up 

 
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I'm still laughing at the guy who took Gordon at 9. He has to be one of the last throwback fantasy drafters like this on Earth. He also took Stafford, Kerryon, Golladay and Marvin Jones. 

 
Elliott:

4 weeks ago he went for $90/500 in my dynasty start-up auction draft. 

Sunday in my redraft PPR league he went 1.06 

Gordon: 

4 weeks ago he went for $78/500 i my dynasty start-up auction draft.

Sunday in my redraft PPR league he went 4.02 to a dude who then had to spend 7th  on Eckeler. Which is probably the right move,  but it feels like spending 2 picks for one roster spot that may end up being a committee any way it goes down wasn’t that great a value.  :shrug:

 
Zeke went 1.11 guy then took Pollard in 6th

I took Gordon at 4.3, wasnt planning on it but seemed like it was with the risk.. ekeler went later in 4th

 
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I'm drafting 5th Sunday night and am really having a hard time passing on Zeke there. 

Should just go WR WR

 
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Elliott:

4 weeks ago he went for $90/500 in my dynasty start-up auction draft. 

Sunday in my redraft PPR league he went 1.06 

Gordon: 

4 weeks ago he went for $78/500 i my dynasty start-up auction draft.

Sunday in my redraft PPR league he went 4.02 to a dude who then had to spend 7th  on Eckeler. Which is probably the right move,  but it feels like spending 2 picks for one roster spot that may end up being a committee any way it goes down wasn’t that great a value.  :shrug:
Zeke went 1.4.

I took Gordon 4.1 and Ekeler 6.1.

Might have been a mistake on my part. We'll see I guess. After the first few picks i felt like my draft was pretty meh. Shallow rosters starting 10 with 5 on the bench so plenty of talent on the wire, especially young RBs.

 
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Might have been a mistake on my part. We'll see I guess. After the first few picks i felt like my draft was pretty meh. Shallow rosters starting 10 with 5 on the bench so plenty of talent on the wire, especially young RBs.
Probably smart to take them both. In fact you kinda have to if you picked Gordon. 

I just question whether that’s the best use of two draft picks. 

 
Probably smart to take them both. In fact you kinda have to if you picked Gordon. 

I just question whether that’s the best use of two draft picks. 
There's a non-zero chance that these "take both" people are cursing at Justin Jackson, if Jackson gets the Gordon role and Ekeler stays the receiving back.

 
I would still take zeke 4.   I think at max he misses a couple games and I think I can get by without him for the first couple weeks.   After that, IMO, you have the 1.01

 
Drafted last night. Zeke went 6th, Gordon was taken 5.5. Neither by me.

FWIW, Ekeler and Pollard both went to the guy drafting 12th at the 5/6 turn. 

 
Done a half dozen FFPC Best Ball drafts over the last few weeks and I've seen it change from Zeke going around 1.04 to the late first, while Gordon was going as late as the end of the 4th/early 5th to now going mid 3rd. Was never really sure why Zeke wasn't getting hit nearly as bad as Gordon, been avoiding him in all of my drafts. Picked up Gordon in the 4th in a couple.

 
Drafted this past weekend. Zeke went 1.06, and I took Gordon at the 7.03 Grabbed Ekeler in the 8th round coming back. 

 
PhantomJB said:
You are the only sensible person in here
Hey! I avoided both like the plague. I’m not saying I’m sensible, it’s just not for reasons having to do with Gordon or Zeke. 

 I’m just sayin. 

 
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I pick 4th on Monday and will prob take Zeke. I dunno. I don't really like anyone else at 4 and seems likely he'll be back after a few games and good to go for the playoffs.

 
I've drafted Melvin on every single one of my teams.  I'm confident he'll be back.  I think Melvin is far less likely to miss games than Zeke.  I have no idea why Melvin is dropping so massively while Zeke's adp has barely fallen.

 
I pick 4th on Monday and will prob take Zeke. I dunno. I don't really like anyone else at 4 and seems likely he'll be back after a few games and good to go for the playoffs.
Or he’ll be a stubborn boat anchor who drags your team down for 3 weeks, then comes back from Mexico and plays poorly for a game or two, and then when he finally starts performing your team is 0-6. 

One of the two.  :shrug:

 
I've drafted Melvin on every single one of my teams.  I'm confident he'll be back.  I think Melvin is far less likely to miss games than Zeke.  I have no idea why Melvin is dropping so massively while Zeke's adp has barely fallen.
Eckeler & Jackson.

Even when Gordon comes back, he’s got to share carries. 

Plus his injury history may have something to do with it.

i think 4th round is too far, but I get the value drop. 

 
Eckeler & Jackson.

Even when Gordon comes back, he’s got to share carries. 

Plus his injury history may have something to do with it.

i think 4th round is too far, but I get the value drop. 
Melvin played 70% of snaps in the 12 games he played last year.  I don't think that percentage will drop.  I do understand the fear of injury.  It's why I'll be shopping him hard as soon as he comes back.

 
davearm said:
There's a non-zero chance that these "take both" people are cursing at Justin Jackson, if Jackson gets the Gordon role and Ekeler stays the receiving back.
It might be non-zero, but its pretty close. Maybe 5% chance. It would go against everything they did last year when Gordon was out, everything they've said they would do if Gordon stays away, and everything they have done this preseason. Jackson had 1 game where he outplayed Ekeler, Ekeler had more games than that where he outplayed Gordon.

I'd bet its at least 65% Ekeler. I do think Jackson could potentially take GL work though.

 
I've drafted Melvin on every single one of my teams.  I'm confident he'll be back.  I think Melvin is far less likely to miss games than Zeke.  I have no idea why Melvin is dropping so massively while Zeke's adp has barely fallen.
It is interesting seeing some posters claims that Gordon is falling to rounds 7/8 while Zeke remains firmly in the 1st.  From a talent and opportunity perspective, I do think Zeke is a better runner and he has a wider gap against his backups than Gordon who has Ekeler and Jackson.  But it certainly seems that Gordon is the much better value if you are planning on taking a chance on either or both these guys.

I have Zeke on 1 team (1.05) and Gordon on 2 (3rd round).

 
Had one of the most weird drafts in my 20 years playing fantasy football last night.  It's a 15 year old league, super savvy owners.  Almost always go RB heavy, historically (2rb/2wr/flex).  This was a year to be set up for that trend to continue.

Zeke went 1.06

Gordon went 4.06 (by me, rationale below)

I took a chance on Gurley after taking Conner (7 slot), because this is a tough league where you either have a really good team or you'll be middling.  It's a risk, but one I felt comfortable with.  Antonio Brown was there in the third, and he had by far the best upside at WR (maybe anyone) at that point, so took that chance too. 

Then came the middle of the fourth round.  I saw the WR's available and realized that I could get just as good value a round, maybe two rounds later (Larry Plateau(tm) - @Chemical X) - did something I hadn't done in ANY mock draft.  I took Gordon. Why? The run on RBs was longer and deeper than I had even thought.  Montgomery, Ingram, Mack had just gone three of the last four spots, Mahomes being the other.  My gut said peeps gonna panic, and while its a risk, Gurley will at least start week one (hopefully a lot more! but obviously an injury risk)... so maybe he can at least stay healthy until Gordon returns and if both are somehow there toward the end of the year, could really go on a run.

Somehow, with all the RBs taken, Sony Michel was there in the 5th. I freaking went four RBs with my first five picks.  But somehow its a mix of TREMENDOUS UPSIDE (RIP @Tremendous Upside - ####### miss you bro) but the mix of guys also provided a really solid floor with that risk spread and a big chance for trade bait with some teams very hollow at RB.

Guess my point is so much depends on the league.  Scoring, rosters (we have 17 man rosters, so a deep bench that can take steps to address some risks), and other owners' tendencies.  I NEVER thought I'd take Gordon. Never thought I'd take 4/5 RBs to start... but once the 5th round was done, there were scraps left, at best.  I took a big risk/big reward approach and then tried to best mitigate that risk while not harming upside.  Have to be flexible and see how the draft comes to you. We will see if my venture here is successful or a fools errand.

ETA: I ended up with Tyler Boyd as my #2, Corey Davis as my #3 WR, and I need to start two.  Couple high upside guys late.  Got Hunter Henry in the 7th as my TE, because everyone was panicking taking any backs they could, and then teamed Wentz with Lamar Jackson as a QB combo... everyone was still scrambling for RBs that have very little chance for return on ADP. And going so heavy on RBs, meant I didn't need to reach to get a handcuff. Would like to have gotten Henderson, but was too rich for me and not "needed" but did take Samuels late

 
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BTW, as noted above, I find it crazy that Zeke is still an upper half of the first round pick, but Gordon, with arguably SOME more uncertainty (but at this point, is it THAT much more) going at best in late round three, most often in round 4 or 5, and as late as 6 or 7.

Again, in my league, with RB hungry owners, Zeke goes 1.06, and Gordon, with a chance to be a top 3 performing when/if he shows, went after guys with big risk and far more limited upside, themselves.

I don't get that disparity. 

 
It is interesting seeing some posters claims that Gordon is falling to rounds 7/8 while Zeke remains firmly in the 1st.  From a talent and opportunity perspective, I do think Zeke is a better runner and he has a wider gap against his backups than Gordon who has Ekeler and Jackson.  But it certainly seems that Gordon is the much better value if you are planning on taking a chance on either or both these guys.

I have Zeke on 1 team (1.05) and Gordon on 2 (3rd round).
True, but that’s offset a little by 

1. Knowing that you’ll spend a higher pick on Eckeler than Pollard, and there’s no guarantee it isn’t Jackson. So it adds risk. 

2. If/when EZE comes back, that’s his backfield. When Gordon comes back, he’ll likely share touches. Eckeler had stand-alone flex value last year. I expect him to be used as much or more in effort to keep Gordon fresh. 

There are risk/reward scenarios for both. But I avoided them because I’m a bust magnet when it comes to holdout players. 

 
True, but that’s offset a little by 

1. Knowing that you’ll spend a higher pick on Eckeler than Pollard, and there’s no guarantee it isn’t Jackson. So it adds risk. 

2. If/when EZE comes back, that’s his backfield. When Gordon comes back, he’ll likely share touches. Eckeler had stand-alone flex value last year. I expect him to be used as much or more in effort to keep Gordon fresh. 

There are risk/reward scenarios for both. But I avoided them because I’m a bust magnet when it comes to holdout players. 
I've not been a huge Gordon fan, but I don't see his production when he's in the game as that different than Zeke's.  If both were in camp, Zeke would be #1 or #2 overall, Gordon #2-5 probably. 

Also, when/if they do come back, I don't know that the cowboys wont lean a LITTLE more on Pollard than the backups in past years to keep their heavy investment from getting TOO much wear and tear. 

Personally, I don't find much value in Ekeler or Pollard, and might lean Pollard during the time each is the key man.

 
1. Knowing that you’ll spend a higher pick on Eckeler than Pollard, and there’s no guarantee it isn’t Jackson. So it adds risk. 
Ekeler's adp is out of control.  I haven't even considered drafting him in the 6th or 7th round despite owning Melvin on every one of my teams.  But this is a deep draft so it's not necessary to handcuff Melvin.  I've been drafting quality players in the 7th and 8th rounds that will fill in nicely if Gordon misses games.  And they'll still have value after Gordon returns.  I've been waiting until the 9th round to draft my first quarterback so that helps.

 
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I've not been a huge Gordon fan, but I don't see his production when he's in the game as that different than Zeke's.  If both were in camp, Zeke would be #1 or #2 overall, Gordon #2-5 probably. 
Coming into the season healthy last year, Gordon was universally being drafted early to mid 2nd round.

if there were no holdout concerns I believe Gordon would still be a 1.10-2.02 valuation due to the injury history & competition in his backfield. 

Note: I’m not saying Eckeler or Jackson will take a substantial amount of carries (they’ll take some) but the perception in the FF community is that they will, which would keep Gordon’s value a little depressed. 

Also, when/if they do come back, I don't know that the cowboys wont lean a LITTLE more on Pollard than the backups in past years to keep their heavy investment from getting TOO much wear and tear. 
I doubt that. They’ll use Pollard as a breather back, but Zeke is the engine in that offense. 

Personally, I don't find much value in Ekeler or Pollard, and might lean Pollard during the time each is the key man.
Well yeah - Pollard is the much better backup to target IMO. He’s going several rounds later & he doesn’t have a Jackson to compete with like Eckeler does.  

 
Coming into the season healthy last year, Gordon was universally being drafted early to mid 2nd round.

if there were no holdout concerns I believe Gordon would still be a 1.10-2.02 valuation due to the injury history & competition in his backfield. 

Note: I’m not saying Eckeler or Jackson will take a substantial amount of carries (they’ll take some) but the perception in the FF community is that they will, which would keep Gordon’s value a little depressed. 

I doubt that. They’ll use Pollard as a breather back, but Zeke is the engine in that offense. 

Well yeah - Pollard is the much better backup to target IMO. He’s going several rounds later & he doesn’t have a Jackson to compete with like Eckeler does.  
I thought Gordon was higher than that (again, he's NEVER been a guy I've targeted, it sorta just flowed that way yesterday).  I agree Zeke is the engine, which is why he'd be #1/2 overall, but I do see SOME regression in terms of overall load, especially when the Boys are indebted to him and need him healthy for at least three years to get an ROI on a huge deal.

But I hear ya.

 
I thought Gordon was higher than that (again, he's NEVER been a guy I've targeted, it sorta just flowed that way yesterday).  I agree Zeke is the engine, which is why he'd be #1/2 overall, but I do see SOME regression in terms of overall load, especially when the Boys are indebted to him and need him healthy for at least three years to get an ROI on a huge deal.

But I hear ya.
Me either but I stumbled into him last year drafting at the 11 spot - and he was *amazing* for me value-wise right up until he got hurt before the FF playoffs. 

That selfish *******. :lol:  

 
Well yeah - Pollard is the much better backup to target IMO. He’s going several rounds later & he doesn’t have a Jackson to compete with like Eckeler does.  
I've actually rostered Pollard on most of my teams because he has been available in rounds 9-11.  So I've essentially handcuffed Gordon with Pollard.  

 
Had one of the most weird drafts in my 20 years playing fantasy football last night.  It's a 15 year old league, super savvy owners.  Almost always go RB heavy, historically (2rb/2wr/flex).  This was a year to be set up for that trend to continue.

Zeke went 1.06

Gordon went 4.06 (by me, rationale below)

I took a chance on Gurley after taking Conner (7 slot), because this is a tough league where you either have a really good team or you'll be middling.  It's a risk, but one I felt comfortable with.  Antonio Brown was there in the third, and he had by far the best upside at WR (maybe anyone) at that point, so took that chance too. 

Then came the middle of the fourth round.  I saw the WR's available and realized that I could get just as good value a round, maybe two rounds later (Larry Plateau(tm) - @Chemical X) - did something I hadn't done in ANY mock draft.  I took Gordon. Why? The run on RBs was longer and deeper than I had even thought.  Montgomery, Ingram, Mack had just gone three of the last four spots, Mahomes being the other.  My gut said peeps gonna panic, and while its a risk, Gurley will at least start week one (hopefully a lot more! but obviously an injury risk)... so maybe he can at least stay healthy until Gordon returns and if both are somehow there toward the end of the year, could really go on a run.

Somehow, with all the RBs taken, Sony Michel was there in the 5th. I freaking went four RBs with my first five picks.  But somehow its a mix of TREMENDOUS UPSIDE (RIP @Tremendous Upside - ####### miss you bro) but the mix of guys also provided a really solid floor with that risk spread and a big chance for trade bait with some teams very hollow at RB.

Guess my point is so much depends on the league.  Scoring, rosters (we have 17 man rosters, so a deep bench that can take steps to address some risks), and other owners' tendencies.  I NEVER thought I'd take Gordon. Never thought I'd take 4/5 RBs to start... but once the 5th round was done, there were scraps left, at best.  I took a big risk/big reward approach and then tried to best mitigate that risk while not harming upside.  Have to be flexible and see how the draft comes to you. We will see if my venture here is successful or a fools errand.

ETA: I ended up with Tyler Boyd as my #2, Corey Davis as my #3 WR, and I need to start two.  Couple high upside guys late.  Got Hunter Henry in the 7th as my TE, because everyone was panicking taking any backs they could, and then teamed Wentz with Lamar Jackson as a QB combo... everyone was still scrambling for RBs that have very little chance for return on ADP. And going so heavy on RBs, meant I didn't need to reach to get a handcuff. Would like to have gotten Henderson, but was too rich for me and not "needed" but did take Samuels late
same league, i went 8....12 teams, snake draft.  hopkins, tyreek, mack then miles sanders.

 

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