With two young running backs expected to earn a pair of roster spots in Denver, the Broncos may have to choose between two of their more experienced rushers. Troy Renck of the Denver Post believes Javonte Williams and Samaje Perine are ultimately competing for one roster spot.
This would be an unfortunate turn of events for Williams, who was a second-round pick only three years ago. The North Carolina product never truly got a chance to lead the backfield in Denver. He did top 1,200 yards from scrimmage as a rookie, but he still split most of his reps that season with veteran Melvin Gordon. Then, his sophomore season was limited to only four games thanks to a torn ACL, LCL, and posterolateral corner.
To Williams’ credit, he managed to return and start 13 of his 16 appearances in 2023. However, he averaged only 3.6 yards on his 217 carries, and while he finished the year with 47 receptions, that resulted in only 228 yards. While that drop in production could easily be attributed to his recovery from a devastating knee injury, the Broncos will surely use training camp and preseason to evaluate the running back ahead of the 2024 campaign. For what it’s worth, Renck observed that Williams “looked bigger and stronger” during the spring.
Perine was productive during his first season in Denver, finishing with a career-high 50 receptions and 693 yards from scrimmage. Heading into his age-29 season, Perine is the most veteran member of the Broncos RB corps, and with rookie Bo Nix under center, the Broncos may lean on the former fourth-round pick (especially in the passing game). Still, as Renck notes, Williams has also proved to be a capable pass-catcher, so the offense wouldn’t be completely lost without Perine.
Renck believes rookie fifth-round pick Audric Estime will earn one of the spots on the depth chart. The Notre Dame product had a breakout campaign in 2023, finishing the year with 1,341 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. The rookie suffered a knee injury during OTAs but is expected to be a full participant at training camp.
The team is also expected to hang on to Jaleel McLaughlin. The 2023 UDFA had a productive rookie season in Denver, finishing with 570 yards from scrimmage. He also notably hauled in 31 of his 36 targets, perhaps making him an option on third downs.
Hmm. I’m not sure how wise that would be on Denver’s part, considering that Estime has yet to play a game and the other back pushing McLaughlin is an UDFA.
Perine does not have the agility or big play ability that Williams does, but he is the most reliable back in Denver, and the only back really with any experience. He and Williams are both also the two biggest backs. Perine is the best pass protecter and potentially the best pass catcher of the bunch. Every coach wants the one player in a group who can be relied on to go in and not screw up, and that’s Perine (not that the others do screw up, Perine is just the most reliable due to experience).
Williams, though, is the only back in Denver’s arsenal who actually is “special” in terms of skillset. This does not mean that there’s a guarantee that he’s going to production wise, mind you, especially after his injury, which was significant. Other than Williams, however, there’s not a back who is spectacular in any one area on the roster. McLaughlin has legitimate size concerns, Perine is not explosive, Estime has a good college history and is an intriguing player, but is unproven and a fifth round pick. Watson is an UDFA who also lacks size. Paton or Payton appear to really like Watson, so he looks like a strong contender to stick, but he and McLaughlin seem like overlapping players, and neither have the power that Williams possesses.
Williams, if he is back to his normal play, is the most versatile back on the roster with the biggest play ability. It just doesn’t seem worth it to be choosing between those two instead of the others (McLaughlin, Estime, and Watson). It’s not like any of these guys are expensive, so the cap shouldn’t be the major issue here. Denver has acquired a bunch of backs, but choosing between Perine and Williams might leave the Broncos with a need that their remaining players there can’t address. If Williams is significantly still affected by his injury, this may make more sense, but if not, I think that he and Perine offer some things that the other options cannot, and they are also the only two experienced options on the roster.
I’m totally with you on this one, Ak, I think they should keep Williams #1, Perine #2, McLaughlin #3, and if they really value Estime that much, keep a 4th back. Perine is a valuable third down back, but he’s never been a #1. It’s not like he’s Austin Ekeler or David Montgomery.