The No. 1 purpose of latest Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton is to get Russell Wilson’s profession again on monitor, and one option to revitalize the veteran quarterback is likely to be to take work off his plate. The Broncos’ speeding assault ranked twenty fifth in success price, twenty sixth in DVOA, and twenty eighth in anticipated factors added per play in 2022, however Payton intends to enhance upon these numbers.
How will Denver’s present personnel fare? The Broncos signed Samaje Perine to take the load off Javonte Williams, who suffered a season-ending knee damage final October. Have they got sufficient choices on their depth chart, or ought to Payton and Co. think about including one other veteran to their backfield?
The Denver Broncos’ Working Again Choices
“The 2 biggest allies for a QB are protection and a run sport,” Payton mentioned in February. “We have to take (Wilson) off the excessive dive the entire time. He’ll should be there 6-8 instances per sport, although.”
The Broncos definitely approached the offseason as in the event that they had been re-designing an offense with the speeding assault as the first focus. Denver made three of the 5 costliest offensive line signings of the 2023 free agent interval.
Mike McGlinchey will slot in at proper sort out after inking a five-year, $87.5 million deal, whereas left guard Ben Powers obtained a four-year, $52 million contract. Each linemen are strong as go protectors however are higher within the run sport, an indication that Payton plans to prioritize the bottom.
However what concerning the operating again corps? Williams tore his ACL, LCL, and posterolateral nook in Week 4 of final season. The previous second-round decide participated in Denver’s OTAs on a “restricted capability,” however it’s nonetheless unclear if Williams will be capable of see full work throughout coaching camp.
Talking to reporters on Thursday, Payton mentioned he’s “optimistic” about Williams’ progress and mentioned the 23-year-old is “doing effectively.” Williams rushed for 903 yards at a 4.4 yards-per-carry clip and ranked 18th in speeding success price throughout his rookie marketing campaign in 2021.
Whereas the Broncos are hopeful that Williams shall be prepared for Week 1, they hedged towards his well being by signing Perine to a two-year, $7.5 million pact in free company. The Bengals needed to re-sign Perine and supplied him almost an identical phrases, however the veteran again selected to move to Denver, maybe as a result of there may very well be work accessible.
“What it got here right down to, actually, was how up entrance Denver was with me so far as taking part in time and what coach Payton desires to do with me, personally, and what he desires to do as an offense,” Perine instructed the Denver Put up in March.
“The primary time I talked with coach Payton when every thing opened up — that first day — the factor he actually emphasised was his historical past of utilizing a number of backs, utilizing two backs in his time with the Saints and going by means of the historical past of the backs he’s had.”
Whereas Payton believes Perine is usually a three-down again, that’s not a task he’s held since 2017. Perine topped out at 197 touches throughout his rookie marketing campaign and hasn’t crossed the 140-touch threshold since. With that in thoughts, it’s truthful to marvel if the Broncos ought to think about including one other again, particularly given a number of the free brokers accessible available on the market.
Along with Williams and Perine, Denver additionally has former Saints operating again Tony Jones Jr., Tyler Badie, and undrafted free agent Jaleel McLaughlin on its roster. As well as, the Broncos labored out ex-Steelers again Benny Snell earlier this week. However let’s check out high-profile backs Denver might have a look at within the coming weeks.
Dalvin Cook dinner
Let’s begin with a simple one: the Broncos “don’t look like in on” Dalvin Cook dinner, in response to Mike Klis of 9News. Denver and Miami have been linked to Cook dinner, who was lastly launched by the Minnesota Vikings final week, however the Broncos are most likely going to look in a special route.
Cook dinner is looking for a wage near the $10.4 million he was scheduled to gather from Minnesota, stories Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Denver has lower than $9 million in accessible cap area, in order that sort of contract wouldn’t be attainable for Cook dinner until he’s prepared to just accept a closely incentivized deal.
Ezekiel Elliott
Whereas the Broncos weren’t on the listing of three groups that Ezekiel Elliott needed to play for as of March, the previous Cowboy might need to take what he can get at this level within the offseason. Zeke hasn’t generated any recognized curiosity since changing into a free agent, however Dallas has been open about its curiosity in a possible reunion.
Though Elliott crawled to a 3.8 yards-per-carry common in 2022, he’s nonetheless a succesful grinder between the tackles and close to the purpose line and stays an elite go protector. He wouldn’t garner a full-time position in Denver, however Zeke’s unlikely to obtain his earlier workload irrespective of the place he indicators.
Kareem Hunt
Kareem Hunt could have sufficient overlap with Perine that the Broncos gained’t think about him. Each veterans are wonderful receivers who thrive extra within the passing sport than on the bottom.
Nonetheless, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler known as Denver a “workforce to observe” for Hunt after the Broncos failed to pick out a operating again within the 2023 NFL Draft. Furthermore, new Broncos operating backs coach Lou Ayeni labored with Hunt at Toledo, so Denver’s workers has at the least a tangential connection to the previous Browns RB.
