Tag: Jaleel McLaughlin

Fantasy Football: Audric Estime seems to be the Broncos’ new RB1

Broncos coach Sean Payton liked what he saw from Audric Estime on Sunday. “I was encouraged. He’ll continue to get more reps,” Payton said.

The Denver Broncos appear to have made a change in their backfield.

After coach Sean Payton hinted last week that Audric Estime would be more involved in the second half of the season, the rookie led the team’s running backs in snaps (26), carries (14) and rushing yards (53) against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

“We keep wanting to get him involved,” Payton said after the game. “He is a handful.”

Estime’s production was modest as he only averaged 3.8 yards per carry, but if he remains the team’s primary running back going forward, the rookie will quickly become relevant for fantasy football managers.

“I thought he ran well yesterday,” Payton said Monday. “I thought [Marvin] Mims gave us some juice as well. [We’re] just trying to find different roles and different ways to utilize these players. I was encouraged. He’ll continue to get more reps.”

Estime, who was picked by Denver in the fifth round of this year’s NFL draft out of Notre Dame, appears to have leapfrogged Javonte Williams in the RB rotation. Williams will likely remain involved in passing situations (he is the team’s best blocking RB) and Jaleel McLaughlin will continue to mix in, but Estime appears to be the new RB1.

This week, Estime will face an Atlanta Falcons defense that ranks in the bottom half of the NFL against the run, allowing 4.5 yards per carry and 129.4 rushing yards per game. Take note, fantasy football managers.

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Sean Payton hints at more playing time for a Broncos running back

Take note, fantasy football managers: Audric Estime could get more carries from the Broncos in the second half of the season.

Take note, fantasy football managers.

During his conference call with reporters on Monday, Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton was asked if rookie running back Audric Estime could get a bigger workload in the second half of the season.

“I think that’s a good and fair question, and one that I think I would answer, ‘Yes,'” Payton said.

Estime (5-11, 227 pounds) was picked by the Broncos in the fifth round of this year’s NFL draft out of Notre Dame. He spent four weeks on injured reserve earlier this season with an ankle injury and he had some hiccups with two fumbles, but Estime’s stock is now trending up.

The rookie got five carries on Sunday, tying his career high. That’s certainly not a big number, but it could increase in the coming weeks.

On a small sample size of 15 carries, Estime has a better yards per carry average (6.3) than starter Javonte Williams (3.8) and change-of-pace back Jaleel McLaughlin (3.9). Estime’s average will likely go down with a larger sample size, but the rookie has earned more opportunities.

Estime is probably worth stashing on your fantasy football bench in case his workload does increase down the stretch.

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ESPN suggests Broncos could trade for pass-catching running back

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler believes the Broncos could target a pass-catching running back ahead of the NFL trade deadline.

The Denver Broncos traded pass rusher Baron Browning to the Arizona Cardinals on Monday, and more moves could be on the way.

Broncos backup quarterback Zach Wilson and tight end Greg Dulcich will be names to watch leading up to the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler believes Denver could also add a player ahead of the deadline.

“It wouldn’t shock to see the Broncos comb the market for a pass-catching running back,” Fowler wrote on ESPN.com. “Coach Sean Payton has always coveted those change-of-pace backs, which harks back to the Darren Sproles days.”

The idea of Payton wanting a receiving back is certainly plausible, but it’s hard to imagine there being room for another RB in Denver’s offense. Payton has repeatedly said this season that it’s hard to feature more than two RBs.

Javonte Williams remains the team’s workhorse back and Jaleel McLaughlin has been the change-of-pace back. Audric Estime got a career-high five carries on Sunday and Tyler Badie could return from a back injury at some point this season.

If Payton does bring in a running back, he might have to ship out a current RB to make room. We’ll track any potential moves on Broncos Wire.

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Ravens vs. Broncos: Top photos from Baltimore’s 41-10 win in Week 9

Top photos from the Baltimore Ravens 41-10 win over the Denver Broncos in Week 9 at M&T Bank Stadium

Denver entered the game 5-3 with the NFL’s third-ranked defense, but the Baltimore offense shredded them, as Vance Joseph’s defense surrendered 396 yards and five touchdowns on the afternoon.

The Ravens are 6-3 after a 41-10 win over the emerging Broncos at M&T Bank Stadium.

Here are the top photos from the win.

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Lamar Jackson finished with perfect passer rating as Ravens demolish Broncos 41-10

Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson finished with a perfect passer rating in Week 10 as the Ravens defeated the Broncos 41-10

The Ravens spent all week talking about removing the taste of an ugly loss to the Browns in Week 8. John Harbaugh’s team responded solidly, dominating the upstart Broncos 41-10 at M&T Bank Stadium.

Denver entered the game 5-3 with the NFL’s third-ranked defense, but the Baltimore offense shredded them, as Vance Joseph’s defense surrendered 396 yards and five touchdowns on the afternoon.

With talk about Josh Allen potentially winning MVP, Jackson completed 16 of 19 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns on Sunday, marking his fourth perfect passer rating.

Derrick Henry finished with 101 yards rushing and two touchdowns, moving past Barry Sanders for 10th on the all-time touchdowns list and going over 1,000 yards for the sixth time in his career.

Zay Flowers had another 100-yard game, finishing with 127 yards receiving and two touchdowns.

On defense, Zach Orr’s unit surrendered 319 yards, including 197 passing and, most importantly, just ten points.

Baltimore will now prepare for Cincinnati on a short week and Amazon’s Thursday Night Football.

WATCH: Broncos QB Bo Nix throws TD pass to Jaleel McLaughlin

Bo Nix’s fourth touchdown of the game gives the Broncos a 28-7 lead over the Panthers in the third quarter.

Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to running back Jaleel McLaughlin the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers.

Here’s video of the play, courtesy of the team’s official Twitter/X page:

Following that score, the Broncos now lead the Panthers 28-21.

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Broncos RB Audric Estime activated from injured reserve

The Broncos activated RB Audric Estime from the injured reserve list to the 53-man roster. He’s expected to serve as RB3 on Sunday.

The Denver Broncos activated running back Audric Estime (ankle) from injured reserve to the 53-man roster on Saturday, the team announced.

Estime (5-11, 227 pounds) injured his ankle in the team’s season opener against the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 8. After sitting out the last four games, Estime became eligible to return ahead of a Week 6 showdown with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Estime will now return to serving as the team’s third-string running back behind Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin. Blake Watson will presumably be a healthy scratch again now that Estime has returned.

Denver picked Estime in the fifth round of this year’s NFL draft out of Notre Dame. He rushed twice for 14 yards and one first down in his NFL debut.

The Broncos also promoted safety Tanner McCalister from the practice squad to the 53-man roster on Saturday. The team had room for Estime and McCalister on the active roster after placing center Luke Wattenberg and wide receiver Josh Reynolds on injured reserve.

Denver’s game against Los Angeles will be regionally televised on CBS. Despite playing at home with a three-game winning streak, the Broncos are considered underdogs against the Chargers this week.

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WATCH: Broncos QB Bo Nix throws TD pass to Jaleel McLaughlin

Bo Nix throws a short TD pass to Jaleel McLaughlin and the Broncos now have a 10-point lead over the Raiders!

Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix threw a four-yard touchdown pass to running back Jaleel McLaughlin in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Here’s video of the play, courtesy of the team’s official Twitter/X page:

Following that score, the Broncos now lead the Raiders 20-10.

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Broncos place RB Tyler Badie on injured reserve

The Broncos placed RB Tyler Badie (back) on injured reserve, ruling him out for at least four games.

The Denver Broncos have placed running back Tyler Badie (back) on injured reserve, the team announced Saturday. Badie must now sit out at least four games. The earliest the running back could return would be a Week 9 road game against the Baltimore Ravens on Nov. 3.

Badie (5-8, 197 pounds) suffered the back injury when he was hit from behind by linebacker Quincy Williams in the first quarter of last week’s 10-9 win over the New York Jets. After going to the sideline, Badie went down on the ground and was later placed onto a backboard, loaded into a cart and taken into the locker room.

Badie rushed 11 times for 86 yards and four first downs and hauled in three receptions on 21 snaps in three games before his injury. Before this season, Badie had one rush and a 24-yard touchdown catch with the Broncos in 2022 (he spent last season on the practice squad).

The Broncos have Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin as their top two backs and rookie Blake Watson is also on the active roster, but he was a healthy scratch for the first four games. Next week, fifth-round draft pick Audric Estime will be eligible to return from injured reserve.

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Javonte Williams and Broncos’ ground game are back on track

Javonte Williams averaged 4.8 yards per carry in Week 4. “He has the ability to be one of the best in the league,” Garett Bolles said.

After struggling through the first three weeks of the season, Javonte Williams and the Denver Broncos‘ ground game finally got back on track against the New York Jets in Week 4.

Williams rushed 16 times for 77 yards against the Jets, averaging 4.8 yards per carry. Jaleel McLaughlin added nine carries for 46 yards (5.1 YPC). That’s the kind of production Denver hoped to see from its backfield this fall.

Bronco coach Sean Payton credited the offensive line following a 10-9 win over the Jets.

“Well, I thought the key started up front,” Payton said Sunday. “We got to some six holes, seven-hole wide zones, we got to some duo schemes, we brought them. We knew analytically this was a team that’s better in coverage and you had a little bit more susceptible, if you will, in the run game. Know we hit a couple traps, I could tell the lineman felt like at halftime that, ‘Hey, just keep [running ]’ – well that’s easy too when it was as wet as it was. Ultimately though when it dried up, we were going to have to make a play or two in the passing game. But those guys up front, I think were the key.”

Garett Bolles, Denver’s left tackle, is always eager to open up running lanes.

“He’s a special back,” Bolles said of Williams. “He has the ability to be one of the best in the league, but we need to open up holes and show his talent and that’s what we did today. I’m just grateful for Ben (Powers), Luke (Wattenberg), Quinn (Meinerz), ‘Palco’ (Alex Palczewski), everybody that we had up front we just grinded it out and our backs found the running lanes and hit the holes, and we knew what we needed to do today.”

The Broncos finished the day with 126 rushing yards, their second-best total of the season. Sunday was a step forward, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement.

“I thought Javonte and Jaleel played well yesterday,” Payton said Monday. “Meinerz got a game ball. I thought we were physical. It was a messy first half. It was difficult with the conditions, and yet that’s just the way that game unfolded. That’s still a work in progress, and I want it to rest on their shoulders too. Especially late in the game.

“We [had] a chance late in the game really with the final play on third down. Before we attempt the field goal, we can ice it there with a quarterback kind of crack sweep and we just didn’t get the blocks we needed. We’re building on that, and I think it’s going to be important for us going forward.”

Up next for Denver is a home game against the Las Vegas Raiders, who have allowed 137.5 rushing yards per game this season. Williams and Co. will look to keep the momentum going in Week 5.

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