Chargers RB Melvin Gordon is a 'work in progress' in pass protection

Melvin Gordon's hands are better than you might expect from such a run-heavy college offense -- and the Chargers throw the ball to backs about as much as anyone in the league. But the pass protection remains a work in progress. And while Philip Rivers probably won't play all that much in the preseason, he admits he'll be watching closely from the sidelines.

"He's still having to adjust to protections and to the route running," Rivers said, "but the good thing is he catches it well, catches it naturally. And protections, shoot, it's like not that I've had to sell it to him, but I said, hey, you pick up the right guy on third down and pick up the protection, and there's two reasons you've got to love that. One, is it helps us win. And another is you get another carry. Now it's first down, and you get another carry. We don't get it, and we punt, and you look up and we start getting behind, you're going to be standing over there watching us in two-minute stuff."

Fantasy Impact: 

This is the second news item discussing Gordon's issues with pass protection, which confirms our belief that it's going to be Danny Woodhead, not Gordon, playing on third down and in passing situations. Rivers confirmed as much when he said that Gordon would be on the sideline watching the team in the two-minute offense. Woodhead is shaping up to be a fantastic value in the 9th/10th round, especially in PPR formats.

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