The Denver Broncos were said to have the worst roster in the NFL last season, but what a difference a year makes...
Not only do the Broncos not have the worst roster in the NFL, but they might have one of the deepest. We saw evidence of that in the team's preseason opener, and we'll likely continue to see the depth of this roster being flexed over the next couple of weeks leading up to the start of the regular season.
When it comes time for general manager George Paton and head coach Sean Payton to assemble the 53-man roster, they'll have to find ways to not simply cut guys but get value where they can, and one spot they might be able to do that is at running back. A speculative preseason trade block has been put out by NFL Trade Rumors, and they listed maybe the most obvious candidate among Denver's skill players to be on the move in the coming weeks.
RB Jaleel McLaughlin projected to be on trade block for Denver Broncos
The Broncos currently have six running backs on their roster, including JK Dobbins, RJ Harvey, Jaleel McLaughlin, Tyler Badie, Audric Estimé, and Blake Watson. Keeping four backs would already be a little bit of overkill, but it seems more likely than not that that's the direction the team would go.
And right now, the most obvious potential trade candidate would have to be McLaughlin, one of the players listed by NFLTR. This is not inside info from the team, but rather speculation based on situation and the surrounding players on the depth chart.
McLaughlin has a minimal cap hit of just over $1 million this coming season, and has two years of experience in the Sean Payton offense, but there's a reason why this position group was overhauled and he's part of that. The entire running back room was a let-down last season with Javonte Williams leading the charge, but even with Williams's struggles, McLaughlin failed to seize a larger role going forward.
That's why the Broncos brought in both JK Dobbins and RJ Harvey this past offseason. And frankly, it felt like the team was more excited about what they saw from Tyler Badie in one game last season (against the Bucs) than they have been about anything we saw from McLaughlin last season.
McLaughlin is a smaller, change-of-pace back. The Broncos won't have a defined role for him this coming season with Harvey now in the mix alongside Dobbins, and he'll have to clearly beat out Badie and Audric Estimé, a 5th-round pick by the team last year.
We'll have a great indication this coming weekend just how wide-open that position battle is if Estimé is running ahead of McLaughlin when the Broncos turn to their second unit offensively.
But with McLaughlin also entering a contract year and a player like Estimé having three years left on his rookie deal, the Broncos would have to be certain that McLaughlin's role was a big one in order to justify keeping him. There are plenty of running back-needy teams around the league, and the presence of Dobbins and Harvey should give the Broncos the freedom of patience with a younger player like Estimé.
Keeping a group of Dobbins, Harve, Badie, and Estimé would be excellent for this team, even if it meant the Broncos had to say goodbye to the former UDFA star, who made some decent contributions in his first two seasons and also sets a great example of hard work every day.