Most fantasy teams will willingly take LeVeon Bell in the second round (or perhaps the first) even knowing he'll miss the first three games of the season. That's the kind of difference-maker he is when on the field. So how early do you draft Josh Gordon?
Gordon will miss the first four games of the season, and during that time you need to worry whether he'll hang out with Johnny Manziel or do something else stupid to get suspended. Or maybe he'll be traded to another team, and need to fit into a new offensive system or offense.
But Gordon quickly showed us all how talented he is, again, last night, turning two targets from Robert Griffin III into 87 yards and a long touchdown. On one he simply blew by cornerback Brent Grimes, and on the other he might have got away with a push off. Either way, he looked like a man among boys out there, the dominant guy he was when he led the league in receiving in 2013 despite missing the first two games.
Cleveland may hope to be a run-first offense, but that should last through the first halves of games, if that. Their defense is terrible, and they'll be playing from behind a lot. Their quarterback is an injury risk, but Gordon can function with lesser passers. Josh McCown should prove just as capable of throwing it up for Gordon to make a defensive back look silly as Robert Griffin III.
I'm curious as to where Gordon will show up in our rankings update on Monday. He should definitely move up. For me, I will be looking at Gordon maybe as early as the sixth or seventh round. Last year I took Todd Gurley that early in one league, knowing he'd be limited early in the year. It paid off.
He won't play the first four games, so you've got to fill that void. But from Week 5 on, he could be a top-15 or 20 wideout -- at least. Tough to find a player like that outside the first four rounds of a draft.
--Andy Richardson