While it’s hard to make an argument the Denver Broncos haven’t been an overriding success as a team in 2024, it’s not hard to point to one part of the team that continues to fall overwhelmingly short.
That’s the rushing attack. It’s really bad. And the Broncos have been winning in spite of that, with an 8-5 record headed into a Week 15 home game against the Indianapolis Colts.
The Broncos are currently sitting in the No. 6 seed spot in the AFC Playoff standings with 4 games to play as they try to make the postseason for the first time since the 2015 seasons. And they’ve made it there with the league’s 20th ranked rushing offense.
All reasons why the Broncos need to sit veteran running back Javonte Williams and hand the bulk of the rushing load over to rookie Audric Estime and second year running back Jaleel McLaughlin.
“To me, I think (running the ball) is where the Broncos have to kind of just bite it and say, ‘hey, we’e been trying this all season long,’ ” Mile High Sports’ Cody Roarke said on the “Locked on Broncos” podcast on December 11. “It hasn’t worked. If we’re going to make the postseason, we need to find a way to get the run game going. And we need to get (Estime), who we keep saying we want to get more touche, to get him the ball and see it through.”
Williams currently leads the Broncos with 446 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns but is averaging just 3.6 yards per carry.
His struggles have been even more pronounced over the last month with 3 games he’s rushed for 1 yard or less, including 8 carries for negative-2 yards in a win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 12.
Broncos Made Modest Investment In Williams
The Broncos made a modest investment in Williams when they drafted him in the second round (No. 35 overall) in the 2021 NFL draft out of North Carolina and signed him to a 4-year, $8.86 million contract.
Williams has led the Broncos in rushing in 2 of his 3 seasons, including a career high 903 rushing yards in 2021, when he had 1,219 yards of total offense and 7 touchdowns. After suffering a season-ending knee injury in 2022, Williams came back with 774 rushing yards and 1,0002 yards of total offense and 5 touchdowns in 2023.
The Broncos haven’t had a running back pass 1,000 rushing yards in a single season since Phillip Lindsay in 2019. Williams is also in the final year of his rookie contract and has a market value of a 3-year, $20.8 million contract when he becomes a free agent, according to Spotrac.
Estime Picking Up Steam as Season Chugs Along
Estime has been really good in a limited role so far, with 41 carries for 191 yards and no touchdowns in 9 games, with a season high 14 carries for 53 yards in a 16-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 10.
McLaughlin, who made the team as an undrafted free agent in 2023, is also coming off his best game of the season, rushing for 84 yards on 14 carries in a win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 14 and is averaging 4.6 yards per carry.
The Broncos selected Estime in the fifth round (No. 147 overall) out of Notre Dame. The 21-year-old played three seasons at Notre Dame and had 1,055 yards of total offense — 920 rushing and 125 receiving — with 12 touchdowns in 2022.
He had another big year in 2023 with 1,341 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns while averaging 6.4 yards per carry.
