The Denver Broncos have a terrific combination in the backfield with Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams, but Gordon will be an unrestricted free agent following the 2021 season.
The Denver Broncos will have a decision to make. Will they attempt to re-sign Gordon or will they decide to allocate those salary cap dollars elsewhere and turn Williams into the bell-cow runner?
It seems that Williams will become the guy getting the bulk of the carries sooner rather than later, but as I recently discussed, will the Broncos want to break up the continuity that has developed in this backfield?
Currently, Gordon has a projected market value of about $5.1 million annually, according to Spotrac. Williams will make just a shade over $2 million in 2022, so would the Broncos want to have that much money tied up by the running back spot? Would they want to pay north of $5 million per season to a guy who might not even be the starter?
Should the Broncos choose to move on from Gordon and turn the lion’s share of the carries in the backfield over to Williams, here are some potential players who could come with a smaller price tag than Gordon, all of whom are also scheduled to hit the free-agent market.
Sony Michel
A former first-round pick of the New England Patriots, Michel was traded to the Los Angeles Rams this past summer after the team lost Cam Akers for the season. He has done a good job spelling Darrell Henderson there, but he will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.
Michel will turn 27 years old in February, meaning he should have at least a couple of good years left in him. He has not been worn out in the first part of his career as he has always been part of a committee approach, which he would fit right into in Denver.
Michel would be a solid No. 2 running back behind Williams and he would be cheaper than Gordon by a lot. The Broncos could sign him for half of the money Gordon will likely be seeking.
Jeff Wilson
Wilson’s will likely be the most unrecognizable name on this list, but that doesn’t mean he should be dismissed.
It doesn’t seem to matter who the San Francisco 49ers line up in the backfield, they get big yardage out of any of them, much like the Broncos teams that were once coached by Mike Shanahan, father of current Niners coach Kyle Shanahan.
Wilson was undrafted out of North Texas in 2018 and has been with the 49ers since. He was a touchdown machine in college, scoring 30 touchdowns during his junior and senior years combined.
Though he will likely never be a featured back in an offense, he can be quite the complementary piece, and that is what he has done in San Francisco. He rushed for seven touchdowns in a limited role in 2020 and could easily come in and do the same in Denver as part of a rotation.
Wilson recently turned 26 years old and he has carried the ball less than 300 times total in his career. He has a lot of good football ahead of him and could be an excellent under-the-radar signing for a team like the Broncos.
Marlon Mack
Mack appeared to be on his way to becoming one of the best backs in the league after rushing for 908 yards and nine touchdowns in 2018 and 1,091 yards and eight touchdowns the following season. But a torn Achilles in the season opener in 2020 derailed all of that and Mack has yet to get back on the tracks.
Mack is still with the Indianapolis Colts, but the injury pushed him down the depth chart and out of favor with the team. The Colts now have possibly the best running back in the league in Jonathan Taylor and they don’t figure to put Mack back in the mix as he has carried the ball just five times this season.
Whether he’ll ever be the same or not remains to be seen, but he may not need to be if a team just wants to use him in a complementary role. He has a style that would work well in the same backfield as Williams as the Broncos could hit teams with a tremendous combination of their combined skills.
Obviously, any team that makes a move for Mack will need to know that he has a clean bill of health but his name was floated around quite a bit as the trade deadline came and went earlier in the season.
If the Broncos could get him for $2 million per year, it might be worth a shot.
Ronald Jones
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have not completely closed the door on their former second-round pick, but they might as well. Leonard Fournette is on the field for nearly all of the team’s offensive snaps and that leaves Ronald Jones standing on the sideline rather often.
The Bucs didn’t originally use the No. 38 overall pick of the 2018 draft on Jones so that he could stand and watch, but Fournette has the trust of Tom Brady and the offense is much more dynamic when he is on the field.
But Jones is just 24 years old and could have a ton of good play left in him, making him the most interesting name on this list.
Jones rushed for 724 yards and six touchdowns in 2018 and 978 yards and seven touchdowns in 2020. Those numbers have dipped tremendously this season, as Jones has just 274 yards on 63 carries this season.
The Bucs likely don’t see him as part of their future and may not even attempt to bring him back in 2022, making it easier for other teams to offer up their best deal.
If the Broncos could sign Jones to a deal that averaged out at about $3.9 million annually, as Spotrac suggests, that’s an idea worth considering.
Jones could have his career rejuvenated in Denver and he and Williams could become one of the league’s most potent rushing combinations for several years to come.