He played college football at Wisconsin. The San Diego Chargers selected Gordon in the first round with the 15th overall pick.

The American football running back Melvin Gordon plays for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League.

Gordon was born and raised in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and attended Mary D. Bradford High School, where he was a two-sport star for the Red Devils in both football and track.

He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he played for the Wisconsin Badgers football team from 2011 through 2014 under head coach Bret Bielema, Barry Alvarez, and Gary Andersen and was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

In 2012, Gordon was the third-string running back behind Montee Ball and James White. In the Badgers’ third game against UTEP, he had eight carries for 112 rushing yards and a touchdown for his first collegiate game going over the century mark.

In Gordon’s final college game, the 2015 Outback Bowl, he rushed for 251 yards against the #19 Auburn Tigers in a 34–31 overtime victory.

He set the Outback Bowl rushing record with his performance and was named the game MVP. For the season, he gained 2,587 yards, second only in FBS history to the 2,628-yard record held by Barry Sanders since 1988.