Anthony Gordon faces long odds once again to make KC Chiefs roster

Anthony Gordon is used to the steep climb ahead.

Though he’s proven himself to be a very gifted all-around athlete with an ability to live up to the moment and beat the odds facing him, Gordon has been forced—time and again—to silence the doubters and make his name known in football circles.

The latest climb facing Gordon is an attempt to reach the summit of the Kansas City Chiefs final roster—or, at the very least, turn enough heads to land on the team’s practice squad. In short, Gordon would do well to be termed as K.C.’s QB3 when all is said and done behind Patrick Mahomes and Chad Henne on the depth chart.

In order to become the developmental quarterback du jour for Andy Reid and his staff, Gordon is going to have to do what so many before him have been unable to do. Behind Mahomes, the Chiefs have featured a revolving door of candidates hoping to latch on for longer than a season—from Joel Stave to Jordan Ta’amu to Shea Patterson to Chase Litton.

Can Anthony Gordon once again overcome the long odds facing him?

At present, Gordon and Shane Buechele are the competitors, but history tells us that one or both will be discarded by this time next year if not much sooner.

This is nothing new for Gordon.

Coming out of high school, Gordon was a successful high school quarterback who was an all-state quarterback in California who threw for 49 touchdowns and nearly 5,000 passing yards his senior season alone. The end result was a total of zero scholarship offers. None.

From there, Gordon decided to take the JuCo route to still pursue his love of football, despite being equally skilled at baseball. He was even drafted by the New York Mets in the 2015 MLB Draft. No matter, he followed his heart which told him to lean into football—a sport he started playing only as a freshman in high school.

Gordon remained in California to attend City College of San Francisco where he threw 37 touchdowns and led them to a 12-1 record. Suddenly the high school experience looked a bit more legitimate, and Gordon was a shinier prospect—albeit one who would still spend the next three seasons backing up other quarterbacks.

Washington State would force Gordon to wait (and wait and wait) through a redshirt season in 2016 and then as Luke Falk‘s backup in 2017. In 2018, Gardner Minshew was the team’s starter, and Gordon was once again waiting in the wings. It wasn’t until 2019 when, after several years trying to show what he can do at the D1 level, Gordon really took flight.

During his lone season as a starter in Mike Leach’s offense, Gordon was second in the nation with an eye-popping 5,579 passing yards and 48 touchdowns (thanks, Joe Burrow). He also completed nearly 72 percent of his throws. It was a dominant year, statistically speaking, and Gordon once again proved that he was a talent to be reckoned with.

Then came the next level.

Gordon’s attempts to impress folks in the NFL fell short just like his hopes to find a D1 scholarship in the first place or to earn a starting spot once he found a college home. At every level, he’s put up the numbers only to find very few believers. At the pro level, he went undrafted in the 2020 NFL Draft only to sign with the Seattle Seahawks after the fact. However, he was cut shortly before active rosters were due and he was left off of the practice squad as well.

The Chiefs came calling last January and Gordon has been with the team since. It’s his first official minicamp and normal preseason given the limitations imposed by COVID-19 last spring and summer. Will he be able to show the Chiefs coaching staff something they haven’t had before in other developmental arms? Does he bring any sort of edge over Shane Buechele?

The odds aren’t good. Scouts knock his decision-making, arm strength, and lack of size. He’s also a product of Leach’s dynamic offense, and given his one-year wonder status on paper, it’s hard to buy into his body of work.

That said, Gordon ran Leach’s system quite well, and it’s possible that’s a good sign of how he takes to coaching. He’s got a nice touch on his throws when he makes the right read. And perhaps most meaningful of all, he’s been in this kind of position before and pulled through.

The Chiefs have Gordon in camp for a reason, and he’s lasted as a mid-winter signing on a futures contract through the draft and organized team activities in the spring. All of those are very good signs for Gordon to date, knowing that the Chiefs have watched other potential players like Ta’amu walk in order to retain Gordon.

Will Gordon be able to outlast his competitors? Is there any chance of developing him into a capable backup for the moment Chad Henne decides to move on? That much is hard to say, but it’s notable that Gordon has been here before. It’s a steep climb up the Chiefs depth chart and it’s an unlikely win this time around for Anthony Gordon. But he’s heard it all before and come out the other side on top.