It’s not every day that a talent comes along in the NFL that is truly gifted and can exceed to the top ranks, but just can’t seem to get his act together. Don’t get me wrong, there has been plenty of them.  Guys that are super athletes with great skills and nature talent, but for some reason they just lack the character structure to mature into a professional football player.  This week the NFL is welcoming back one of these talents. Josh Gordon is set to make his return in week 3 for a Brown’s team that is depleted of talent. He was serving a 2 game suspension for a failing a drug test, and could face up to a year if another violation occurs. The Browns will most certainly be looking toward Gordon to make some big plays as he done in 2012.

So why the hype?  Well Flash Gordon isn’t just like any receiver. He is pretty fast and can get down the field in a hurry, but is also pretty tall and can go up and make plays.  His 6’3 frame helps him reach above defenders that are actually able to stay with his 4.3 second 40 yard sprint time.  His quickness down the field helped him, and big play making ability, helped him attain a top 10 ranking in yards per catch in 2012. He average the same number of yards per catch as Calvin Johnson, but with fewer targets.  He also had a higher average yards after the catch than Calvin did and ranked at the top 10 among receivers with at least 40 catches. He also caught 5 touchdowns last year and broke a couple of big ones of over 40 yards with his longest being 71 yards. This is a big play type of guy.

There is some downside. The Browns will be starting a rookie QB that is unproven so there is no telling how they will get the ball to Gordon. They will obviously want to get him the ball and try to get him down-field, but whether or not the Browns line will provide the kind of protection needed to throw long passes and now without a true run threat that defense needs to key in on, there will be more defenders in coverage and it will most likely mean double-teams for Gordon.  Granted he should be able to get away from the defenders.  However, there is no way to know if the rookie QB can get the ball to him. I’m sure at some point they will connect, but it’s hard to say how often.

With that said, I’ll be starting Gordon in leagues as a wR3, but not as a flex where I’ve got a running back option. Also, that would be for leagues with at least 10 teams and deep benches. I feel confident in that situation that my other bench options wouldn’t have as much upside as Gordon, but if I only had two options, then Gordon would not be one of them this week. Once I see how he is used, and if I feel he can get the ball, I’d be more incline to elevate his status for WR2.

Flash Gordon had some really good weeks last year and even helped me win a couple of match-ups on his big plays, so definitely consider this guy for a roster spot and for some leagues he could be worth a play this week.  He will be looking to improve on his 800 yards last year so it might be wise to grab him now while he is still available versus waiting till the waiver wire kicks in.