San Diego Chargers running back Melvin Gordon was voted AFC comeback player of the year by the four reporters covering the division for ESPN.com.

Paul Gutierrez, Oakland Raiders reporter: Another winner from the AFC West’s last-place team shows just how competitive the Chargers were this season as well as how few comeback candidates there were in the division. Now, if the Raiders had advanced to Super Bowl LI and had quarterback Derek Carr played in the title game, well, game over. Kind of. Alas, Gordon, the No. 15 overall pick of the 2015 draft, did not score a single touchdown in 14 games as a rookie. After undergoing microfracture surgery on a knee last offseason, he had 10 rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns in 13 games this season and rushed for 997 yards before knee and hip issues ended things early for him.

Jeff Legwold, Denver Broncos reporter: The Chargers may have finished 5-11 -- fourth place in the division -- but in addition to Joey Bosa’s arrival on defense, the team had to take some solace in Melvin Gordon’s rebound from a rookie season in 2015 when he didn’t score a touchdown. Injuries cut a swath through the San Diego roster, including running back Danny Woodhead just 19 carries into his season, but Gordon was three yards shy of a 1,000-yard season. The Broncos certainly saw the improvement given Gordon’s longest run of the season -- 48 yards -- came against them in the Chargers’ Oct. 13 win in San Diego.

Adam Teicher, Kansas City Chiefs reporter: Gordon doesn’t fit the traditional profile of a comeback player because he played almost a full season in 2015. But because he was so much more productive in 2016 than he was as a rookie, he deserves the honor in the AFC West. Gordon’s rushing yards jumped from 641 to 997, his per-carry average increased from 3.5 to 3.9 yards and his touchdowns vaulted from zero to 12, including two as a receiver. That’s a lot closer to the player the Chargers thought they were getting when they drafted him in 2015 in the first round.

Eric Williams, San Diego Chargers reporter: Melvin Gordon had an uneven rookie year in which he failed to get into the end zone, finishing with 641 rushing yards. Gordon also fumbled six times, losing four of those. However, Gordon refocused during the offseason, spending time training with mentor running back Adrian Peterson in Houston. It showed, as the Wisconsin product finished with 997 rushing yards and 12 total touchdowns. A hip strain and knee sprain kept him from reaching 1,000 yards for the first time in his NFL career, but he totaled 1,416 yards from scrimmage in 2016, No. 10 in the league.