Josh Gordon is the name you need to know as the Cleveland Browns get ready to host the Chicago Bears on Sunday. He was relegated to the Supplemental Draft, so only Browns fans and fantasy owners knew who he was before he had his raucous record re-writing receiving rampage in mid-season this year. He’s obscure no more as Josh Gordon has been the darling of this fantasy football season.
Of course, we’ll stop the fantasy football talk right there because you know how much I care about that stuff. I like pre-conference college basketball, no one else does. Lots of people like fantasy football, I do not.
Anyways, let’s recap the Josh Gordon story shall we.
Josh Gordon was a two to three star recruit who drew interest from some high-majors including Nebraska. He accepted a scholie at Baylor. However in October 2010, during his sophomore year he and teammate Willie Jefferson were found asleep at a local Taco Bell. Don’t you just hate it when that happens? That’s me like every Tuesday! Police found marijuana in Jefferson’s car. Jefferson, who was driving, was kicked off the team due to it being his second violation, but Josh Gordon was only suspended.
In July 2011, Gordon was suspended indefinitely by Baylor head coach Art Briles, for later failing a drug test and testing positive for marijuana. Clearly, Gordon had worn out his Waco welcome and transferred to Utah, where he sat out the 2011 season declaring too late for the 2011 Supplemental Draft. Baylor is a strict Baptist school, narcotics offenses don’t go over well in that Bible Belt community.
Josh Gordon had a fine rookie season with the Cleveland Browns, with 50 catches, for 805 yards, and 5 touchdowns. Josh Gordon had his first 100 yard game against the Oakland Raiders in week 13, where he finished with 6 catches for 116 yards and 1 touchdown.
On June 7, 2013, the NFL announced that Josh Gordon would be suspended for the first two games of the 2013 season due to violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy, and that another failed drug test could result in a one-year suspension. So this is why Gordon’s draft stock was so low, and his alleged “character issues” have him on thin ice in the NFL.
Until Gordon went out and put on a clinic that solidifies his place in the league. When you can produce on the field like Josh Gordon did this season, all NFL teams will overlook your legal issues off the field. During week 12, Josh Gordon had 237 receiving yards and in week 13, he followed that up 261 yards. It marked the first time in NFL history a wide receiver had consecutive 200-yard receiving games.
Some more NFL records Josh Gordon has broken already in 2013:
Most receiving yards in a single season in Browns history
Most receiving yards in 4-game span (774) in NFL history
Single game record for receiving yards in Browns history (261)
So it will be fun to see what the Bears secondary against this. Chris Conte still does nothing at all. And Major Wright isn’t particularly good at his job. Watching Josh Gordon go into the area of the field where Conte is “playing defense” should make for good watching.
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also an analyst for multiple news talk radio stations across the country; with regular weekly segments on NBC and Fox Sports Radio. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) and RSS Catch him Tuesdays talking Illini and Northwestern for KOZN 1620 The Zone, Fridays talking Chicago Bears for WAOR 95.7 The Fan