FOXBORO, Mass. — After the New England Patriots acquired Josh Gordon in a trade with the Browns, cornerback Jason McCourty relayed a story from their days together in Cleveland about covering the big wide receiver in practice.
The session occurred midway through last season.
“I remember the first week he came back, he couldn’t play that week, so he was a scout team receiver,” McCourty said. “They threw a fade up, and (Gordon) caught the ball right on top of my helmet like it was nothing and kept it going.”
So, have Gordon’s football-snatching ways continued at practice in New England?
“Yeah, for sure,” cornerback Stephon Gilmore said Wednesday. “Some things you just can’t teach, like his athleticism. You can be right there in position, and he’ll make a play.”
Gordon’s play in practice helped him more than triple his playing time from Week 5, when he was on the field for Patriots 18 snaps, to Week 6, when he played 63 snaps.
“I think each week his role has increased in practice and as far as the number of different things that he feels comfortable and we’re comfortable with him doing,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said Tuesday. “I think it’ll continue to go that way. That may not necessarily correlate exactly to number of snaps. I mean, we don’t sit there and count snaps during the game. I would just say that his role is expanding weekly and we’ll just see how it all plays out.”
Gordon has nine catches for 124 yards with a touchdown in three games in New England this season. He was Tom Brady’s most targeted receiver in the Patriots’ Week 6 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. In Week 5, Gordon caught a touchdown in double coverage over two Indianapolis Colts defensive backs.
“He’s a big guy, and he runs well,” cornerback Eric Rowe said. “He has hands, he reaches out and grabs the ball. Obviously, he’s a great receiver, so covering him kind of makes us better, because there’s not too many guys like him in the league.
“He’s one of the few receivers who actually goes up and actually gets the ball. He’s got big hands, so if it’s in his radius, he’s probably coming down with it.”
Young Patriots cornerbacks aren’t cowering in fear when they line up across from him in practice, however. They know he’ll make them better. They embrace it.
“I mean, it’s good to compete against him, man,” rookie JC Jackson said. “He’s a big, physical receiver. I just like going against him. … Especially me, being a rookie, going against a guy like that. Just making myself better.”
Practice squad cornerback Jomal Wiltz said covering Gordon is a “good challenge,” but he too likes covering him in practice.
“He has size and speed, as well,” Wiltz said. “So, them two in the same category is pretty tough. … When they throw the ball to him, he catches it.”
Gilmore typically goes against bigger wide receivers in games — he limited Sammy Watkins to two catches for 18 yards in Week 6 — and it’s likely he’ll cover Chicago Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson on Sunday. Gordon will get a cornerback prepared for most challenges.
“He’s a big-time receiver, so he definitely gets you prepared every week,” Gilmore said.
