The Denver Broncos backfield was already going to be confusing. Now, with these DRBR scores, it's even a little bit more confusing for us. Realistically, we have four running backs on the depth chart right now that could make an impact at any point this season.
The incumbent starter, or who we believe to be, Javonte Williams, should be atop the depth chart. Then, behind him, you're going to have Samaje Perine, you're going to have Jaleel McLaughlin, and then they also spent a draft pick on Audric Estime out of Notre Dame.
The DRBR scores for Javonte Williams just are not that great. He suffered that huge knee injury at the beginning of the 2022 season, and working his way back in 2023, he may just never have been fully back to what he was prior to that knee injury. So, 2024 will be a big tell for us on whether or not Javonte Williams can get back to being the dynamic running back that made him a huge breakout candidate just a couple of years ago.
But the scores that we want to keep an eye on here are going to be for Jaleel McLaughlin. He has a really great score in yards after contact, an elite score in tackles avoided per attempt, and a respectable score in yards after the catch. But the question is going to be, what is his path to touches?
Best case scenario for Jaleel McLaughlin is that Denver decides to release Samaje Perine either before training camp or during training camp. That should lock him in as potentially the RB2 and the guy that is going to get the majority of the pass-catching work. Then, at that point, it's going to come down to Javonte Williams. Will Javonte Williams be the guy that he was a couple of years ago? If he is, then Jaleel McLaughlin will sit firmly behind him and really only see the majority of his work in the passing game. But if Javonte Williams just doesn't show some of that dynamic playmaking ability once again, then Audric Estime will probably bump up, start to get a few more touches on the ground, and then Jaleel McLaughlin will probably take some of those as well and then really lock in the pass-catching role with Bo Nix, who could end up dumping it off quite a bit to him.
So, am I ready to lock in Jaleel McLaughlin as a breakout candidate quite yet? Unfortunately, no, not right this second. We have to see what happens with Perine, and we have to see where Estime will be on the depth chart come training camp and how much work he gets with the ones. The possibility is there. I would keep an eye on McLaughlin. Do not forget that name. Add him to your watch list. We're probably not drafting him right now, but he could end up being a really nice waiver pickup at some point at the beginning or midpoint of the season.
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