The Denver Broncos not only suffered a devastating division loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, but they also lost promising second-year running back Javonte Williams for the season with a torn ACL. To add insult to injury, the Denver Broncos anticipated “Robin” to Javonte Williams “Batman” in Melvin Gordon has been atrocious this season leading to third-stringer Mike Boone getting plenty of snaps in the second half of Sunday’s game.
Through the first four games, the running game hasn’t been great, but there have been solid signs, mostly when Javonte Williams is toting the rock, Outside of that, it’s been mixed results. The aging Melvin Gordon is only averaging 3.8 yards per carry right now (prior to Thursday night’s game) and you could argue that his fumbles have cost the Denver Broncos a 4-0 record. At this point, many in Broncos Country just want Melvin Gordon gone, including me.
Behind him is Mike Boone who has 78 total carries over five NFL seasons and has done nothing to prove he is more than a special teams guy.
Meanwhile, George Paton did steal former Pro-Bowler Latavius Murray from the Saints practice squad, and it wouldn’t shock me if Murray becomes the lead guy by season’s end.
None of that, however, solves the Denver Broncos’ problem for next year. Who is going to be RB1 for the Broncos? Modern medicine has shown guys like Javonte Williams can come back and be successful but it’s still not a guarantee that he will ever be the same player. Melvin Gordon better not be resigned, and neither Mike Boone nor Latavius Murray inspires hope with a full offseason available to fix a once-promising-now-broken running back position.
Making matters worse, the cupboard is bare in terms of draft picks after landing Russell Wilson this offseason so count out the possibility of trading for Kareem Hunt or Christian McCaffery.
Here are five realistic running back options for the Denver Broncos heading into 2023.