Broncos need to unleash rookie running back after Week 14 bye

Contrary to seemingly popular belief, the Denver Broncos have not had a "good" or "consistent" running game all season behind rookie quarterback Bo Nix. The Broncos have had stretches of competence from their running game, even a couple of big games, but the running game has been anything but a sure thing.

And frankly, that has extended to the start of the Sean Payton era last year, which is quite surprising given the fact that Payton and the Broncos have invested so much in the trenches and he has historically been heavily invested in running backs.

The Broncos rank 21st in rushing yards this season, 19th in yards per attempt (4.2). Only after an 84-yard performance in Week 13 did Jaleel McLaughlin finally jump quarterback Bo Nix, who was previously second on the team in rushing yards this season (304 yards, 4 TDs). Although you can't just move the goalposts like this all the time, if you take away the contributions from Nix in the running game (which have been non-existent over the last month), then the Broncos' running game looks even worse.

It's time for the team to unleash rookie 5th-round pick Audric Estimé, a bruiser who has proven he can handle a bigger workload down the stretch run this season.

Broncos need to bench Javonte Williams, promote Audric Estimé ASAP

If the Broncos are going to be a viable team in the month of December, they have to be able to run the ball consistently. Jaleel McLaughlin did his part against the Cleveland Browns but the last month has been horrendous for Javonte Williams. Save for his 59-yard performance against Atlanta, Williams had a net total of zero rushing yards on 13 carries in games against the Chiefs, Raiders, and Browns.

What's worse, the advanced analytics are showing that the "contributions" of Williams in the running game are actually taking points off the board in the long run...

In 23 of his 29 games played dating back to the start of last season, Williams is averaging less than four yards per carry. It's been tough sledding since he came back from the devastating knee injury he suffered in 2022 and while Williams is tremendous in pass protection, he offers little value to the offense besides that.

Even with only 41 carries so far this season, the effectiveness of Estimé has been fully on display. He's got an average of 4.7 yards per carry which is dragged down somewhat substantially based on a couple of runs late against Kansas City in which the Broncos were just trying to run the clock down. And Estimé's performance against the Chiefs is really the game you've got to look at as a reason why he deserves more of a role going forward.

The rookie has fresh legs. He's running hard. He's seemingly cleaned up fumbling issues that plagued him early in the season.

The Broncos haven't had a 100-yard rusher since Latavius Murray back in the 2022 season. That's absolutely pathetic. The team has to realize that they are out of options with Javonte Williams and during the bye week, I would be shocked if Sean Payton isn't cooking up plans to make Estimé his featured back with Jaleel McLaughlin as the #2.

He could provide a spark the Denver Broncos' running game desperately needs.