Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu couldn’t recall whether he’d matched up against Josh Gordon in the past, but the newest member of the Chiefs’ receiver room already left an impression on the team’s defensive leader.
Gordon participated in his first practice with the team on Wednesday. Ahead of practice on Thursday, Mathieu was asked about how Gordon looked during his first action in Kansas City. Mathieu evoked a wide receiver who was recently enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, former Detroit Lions WR Calvin Johnson AKA “Megatron.”
“I mean, he kind of reminds me of Calvin Johnson,” Mathieu said with a smirk. “Just the way he’s built. I mean, the guy looks like one of the kind of guys that you see two people (covering) him and you still throw the ball to him.”
It’s quite the comparison from Mathieu. Johnson was a little bit bigger than Gordon, weighing in at 6-5 and 235 pounds during his playing days. But it’s easy to see the comparison in size, speed and play style. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes echoed similar sentiments about Gordon’s ability to make plays while covered.
“Like you said, he’s a big receiver — even when he’s covered he’s not covered,” Mahomes told reporters on Wednesday. “You can kind of throw it up there, and he can make plays. . .”
There’s clearly a lot of excitement to have Gordon onboard in Kansas City, but Mathieu also stressed the responsibility the locker room has to Gordon in order to help him stay on the field. With his natural talents, the sky is the limit for Gordon in the Chiefs offense should he continue to stay clean.
“We’re really just looking forward to seeing what he can come in and really bring to the team,” Mathieu continued. “Obviously, everybody in the locker room has a great responsibility to continue to encourage him and push him in the right direction. But from what I’ve seen, he’s a hell of a football player.”
