A new era of football awaits the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020 as the AFC West franchise will move on from longtime quarterback Philip Rivers. A lesser discussed talking point for the Chargers' 2020 offseason is what to do with free agent running back Melvin Gordon, the 26-year-old two-time Pro-Bowler. One solution could be to replace him by signing four-year veteran rusher Kenyan Drake.
Gordon had his worst statistical season in 2019 for the Chargers, rushing for just 612 yards on 162 carries for eight touchdowns, along with contributing 296 receiving yards on 42 catches, scoring a single touchdown via the air in 12 games following the former 15th-overall pick's four-game holdout.
Meanwhile, in his stead, the Chargers worked with a backfield-by-committee. With Gordon out, L.A. found success handing the ball off to Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson, with the former having a breakout season, especially as a dual-threat out of the backfield, catching nearly 1,000 yards and scoring a combined 11 touchdowns via ground and air.
Here's where Kenyan Drake fits in. The Alabama product split his 2019 season between the Miami Dolphins (where he was drafted and spent the first three years of his NFL career) and the Arizona Cardinals. In 2019, Drake put up 817 rushing yards on 170 carries, scoring eight touchdowns along with 345 receiving yards (actually down from 477 the previous season). In short, Drake would fit the burgeoning model of dual-threat running backs employed throughout the league and demonstrated as successful for the Chargers in 2019, too.
At the moment, it's still relatively wide open what L.A. does at quarterback in the wake of parting with Rivers. One thought process is to elevate veteran Tyrod Taylor, Rivers' 30-year-old backup last season. Taylor is an accomplished scrambler and playmaker, especially in his tenure with the Buffalo Bills. Pursuing Kenyan Drake in free agency could work in the Chargers' advantage if head coach Anthony Lynn wants to create a dynamic backfield between quarterback and the running back corps.
Drake could nominally be the “big name” replacing free agent Gordon while working alongside Ekeler and Jackson to provide a dynamic backfield for Taylor or whoever under center as targets out wide or competent rushers with healthy yards per carry stats.
It's hard to say how much Drake views himself agree to in the offseason with his first post-rookie contract in his grasp, but on paper Drake could very much fit in L.A. It appears that there is little and less glory found being the No. 1 “guy” in the backfield receiving monster carries unless you go on an individually accomplished run like the Tennessee Titans' Derrick Henry.
The bottom line is for Drake and the Chargers, a possible marriage this spring works out with an offensive strategy in place post-Rivers. The next question, and more complex one, will be for how much.
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