Statgeekery: Gordon’s the most better ever

Once again, a Brown has topped a statistical list generated by Chase at Football Perspective. He reports that Josh Gordon last year had more yards per target relative to his teammates than any NFL receiver since at least 1999.

 [T]he Browns threw 681 passes last year and gained 4,372 passing yards. But 1,646 of those yards came on the 159 passes intended for Gordon. Remove those plays, and Cleveland averaged just 5.22 yards per pass attempt on passes to all other Browns last year.

The team has obviously loaded up with a surfeit of experienced receivers in place of the erratic Greg Little and Davone Bess. Andrew Hawkins, Miles Austin, Nate Burleson, Earl Bennett, and Anthony Armstrong are all new veteran free agents competing to alongside of and/or in place of the great Gordon, whose agent and attorney are busy contesting whatever sanction the NFL has in mind for his latest officially undisclosed violation of the league’s substance abuse policy.

But there’s no doubt about it: whatever suspension Gordon gets will profoundly damage the team’s offensive capabilities. He’s made an indelible mark already.