What’s the difference between Lane Johnson and Josh Gordon?
By Matt Giraldi
Lane Johnson and Josh Gordon elicit wonderful hypotheticals from their respective fan-bases.
“What if —“
Less than a year after the Cleveland Browns selected Josh Gordon in the 2012 NFL supplemental draft, the Philadelphia Eagles drafted Lane Johnson in the 2013 NFL draft. Both players brought immediate optimism for the future. A shared litany of excuses have been echoed from each player however. Depending on your viewpoints, one might be more sympathetic than the other.
Johnson brought immediate impact to the Eagles’ offensive line. It wasn’t Johnson alone though. The Eagles started the same five players on the line for 5,426 of the 5,520 snaps taken in 2013. Compare that to the previous three seasons. A key contributor to the chaos along the line is Johnson’s four-game and 10-game suspension in 2014 and 2016, respectively.
Gordon entered the NFL with the exact same criticism he faces today. Regardless of your feelings toward marijuana, it is not legal to use while playing in the NFL. Gordon’s usage predated his NFL career, which resulted in him coming into the league as a marked man. NFL cornerbacks couldn’t stop Gordon, but the judge, jury and executioner, Roger Goodell, certainly could.
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What is worse for the “integrity of the game” standpoint though? Johnson’s repeated violations created an unfair advantage on the field. Gordon’s violations (of which there are many more) borderline abuse and an unequivocal reluctance to provide help from the outside.
Perhaps Gordon was a flash in the pan. We will never know. If Johnson hasn’t learned his lesson though, he too will be a footnote in a “what could have been” career. According to the NFL’s drug test policies, one more suspension due to PED’s and Johnson will be suspended for a minimum of two years.
We as fans choose to ignore this dark cloud looming over the franchise as well. Wrapped in anonymity, we will never know how often Johnson’s subjected to drug testing, unless he fails. It’s warm and comforting to fawn over the acquisitions of Timmy Jernigan, Alshon Jeffery and LeGarrette Blount. We assume Carson Wentz will take the next step in his development with a much improved defense and a boatload of offensive weapons.
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It all starts with the five guys up front however. Common sense would dictate that. Unfortunately common sense isn’t too common anymore. Both Johnson and Gordon can attest to that. By all appearances, Doug Pederson and Howie Roseman have not accounted for this on the depth chart. Perhaps another example of common sense, by their definition, being reactionary rather than proactive.
This begs the hypothetical question: What if Johnson is suspended again?
With several key free agents in 2018, the Eagles certainly are in position to finally get a bounty of compensatory picks. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither can the support system around Wentz. After all, Halapoulivaati Vaitai‘s inconsistency last season isn’t the best sign of “depth” along the offensive line. Even with the raised possibility of building the depth chart next year, Johnson’s past muddies the waters of the future.
Perhaps I am a pessimist in thinking Johnson won’t know better. Gordon couldn’t lay off his vice and he got burned. Johnson was simply a victim of circumstance. That, in essence, could be the sole difference between the two. Of course, prior to Gordon’s most recent suspension, hope sprung eternal that he had learned from the past. Given the optimism about Johnson’s role in anchoring the right side of the Eagles offensive line, the city of Philadelphia needs to hope that history doesn’t repeat itself. It certainly did in Cleveland, and if it does in Philadelphia, Wentz and his shiny new toys will suffer the same disappointment that has enveloped the Browns for years.