The Denver Broncos made a handful of noteworthy additions on the offensive side of the football in the 2024 NFL Draft by selecting the Oregon QB-WR duo of Bo Nix and Troy Franklin to retool the offense to fit Sean Payton’s vision.
Yet, one overlooked addition on Day 3 could factor into this offense a bit more than people expect, with Notre Dame running back Audric Estimé joining the team as a fifth-round pick.
What is the dynasty fantasy football outlook for Estimé as he enters a backfield spearheaded by Javonte Williams heading into his rookie year?
Should You Draft Audric Estimé in Dynasty Fantasy Football?
The pre-draft process can be either beneficial or brutal to incoming prospects. Unfortunately for Estimé, his 4.71 time in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine didn’t do him any favors whatsoever in the eyes of personnel evaluators.
Now, it’s worth noting that at 221 pounds, Estimé’s game isn’t built around speed, but it’s hard to put any positive spin on a 40-time that came in slower than FSU DT Braden Fiske at the event.
All discussions about Estimé’s lack of top speed aside, the former Golden Domer flashed plenty of contact balance, elusive instincts, and effective vision in both zone and gap-rushing schemes.
Estimé’s compact, powerful frame is ideally built for early-down and short-yardage work. Additionally, throughout his years with the New Orleans Saints, we saw Payton utilize multiple backs in his offenses. Names like Reggie Bush, Alvin Kamara, Mark Ingram, and Pierre Thomas all come to mind — many of whom worked in tandem together.
Sure, Williams’ presence will likely limit his role to start his NFL career (the veteran possesses a higher ceiling as a feature back), but if he continues to be unimpressive with his leading role, it could open the door for Estimé to steal early-down work as a rookie.
Estimé is a nice RB prospect to target in the third or fourth round of your dynasty rookie draft.
Who Is Estimé?
Background
Estimé was a four-star prospect coming out of St. Joseph Regional High School in New Jersey by 247 Sports and Rivals. Estimé’s outstanding production during his prep days led to him being named the 2020 New Jersey Football Player of the Year after totaling 2,042 yards from scrimmage and 24 total touchdowns in his senior season.
College Production
Estimé’s collegiate career at South Bend got off to a slow start, with just 60 rushing yards on seven carries through his first 12 games as a freshman.
Fortunately, he saw a significant jump in workload and production in his sophomore year. Estimé produced 920 rushing yards and 11 TDs while adding another 135 yards and a score on nine receptions.
KEEP READING: Dynasty Rookie Rankings
While Estimé’s sophomore campaign was very productive, his junior year earned him second-team All-American honors with 1,483 total yards and 18 touchdowns, setting a single-season school record for rushing scores.
Estimé’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
- Bigger power back who displays quality contact balance; regularly powers through arm tackles to churn out extra yardage; strong legs tend to push the pile forward more often than not.
- Pro-ready gap-scheme runner who patiently waits for blockers to pull into the intended gap and properly reads the leverage of defenders to properly sift through traffic on counter and power schemes.
- Short, choppy steps work exceptionally well in tight quarters or make last-second reads/cuts off of his blockers to slip tight openings.
- Navigates through traffic between the tackles effectively for a bigger back.
- Has one of the most functional and effective in-game hurdle moves I’ve seen on tape.
- Despite the lack of extensive production in the passing game, looks very comfortable snagging passes away from his frame.
Weaknesses
- Doesn’t have elite burst or top speed to take the edge or hit home runs consistently.
- Willing pass blocker with some quality reps on tape, but technique could use some refinement. Some poor technique on specific reps led to pressure and a sack against Clemson in 2023.
- Questionable effectiveness in heavy zone-based schemes. Rushing tempo doesn’t seem to favor the one-cut and get-downhill mold of most effective zone-scheme ball carriers.
- Would like to see him trust his speed more often and take the edge when the opportunity presents itself.
- Cuts/sharp changes of direction often lack top-end acceleration/conviction seen when he slips tackles or is navigating through traffic between the tackles. Limiting his ability to create when the designed gap isn’t available or punish aggressive defenders who over-pursue.