Javonte Williams has been solid over the last two weeks, but with a game against an improving Buffalo Bills’ rush defense coming up, will he come up with another big game? Or is this Jaleel McLaughlin’s time to finally get more carries? Here’s the fantasy football outlook for each of the Denver Broncos RBs.
Should You Start Javonte Williams or Jaleel McLaughlin This Week?
In the Pro Football Network Start/Sit Optimizer, PFN’s Consensus Rankings say that Williams is the player to start. His projected 13.5 points include 49 rushing yards, six receptions, and 28 receiving yards. That projected stat line outperforms the consensus projections for McLaughlin (6.1 points).
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My ranking for these running backs aligns with the consensus. Williams is gaining too many yards on the ground these days to avoid using, and McLaughlin is putting up nice numbers but in limited action.
Fantasy Outlook for Williams This Week
Williams was the definition of a workhorse last week against the Kansas City Chiefs, coming up with a career-high 27 carries for 85 yards, which was the third-highest rushing total of his career.
It was Williams’ second straight game with 80 or more rushing yards, the first time he’s ever had back-to-back games with at least 80 yards on the ground.
The flip side to this is the fact that Williams is still looking for his first rushing touchdown of the season. With 90 rush attempts on the season, only Alexander Mattison of the Minnesota Vikings (122) has more rush attempts without scoring a touchdown than Williams this season.
After being inactive for Week 5 vs. the New York Jets with a hip injury, Williams has been terrific in three games since returning. He is averaging over 17 carries a game (17.3) and rushing for 73 yards per game and 4.2 yards per carry.
The Broncos’ opponent this week, the Bills, rank in the bottom half of the league in rush defense (18th), allowing 114.4 rush yards per game. But over its last three games, Buffalo is allowing only 76 rush yards per game, having held all three opponents under 100 yards on the ground.
The Bills’ improving defense notwithstanding, I think it only makes sense to ride the Williams wave as long as you can.
Fantasy Outlook for McLaughlin This Week
The numbers seem to suggest that the only thing missing from McLaughlin’s game is opportunity. The rookie is averaging over seven yards a carry (7.1), and he is the possessor of something Williams can’t claim — a rushing touchdown.
However, McLaughlin also only has 38 rush attempts on the season. In his biggest opportunity to date, when Williams was out for Week 5 with his hip injury, McLaughlin rushed for 68 yards on only nine carries, a 7.6 yards per carry average.
Over his last two games, McLaughlin is averaging nearly nine yards a carry (8.7). But, he only has nine total carries over those last two weeks.
McLaughlin would be an excellent choice to start on a fantasy team if he ever got that opportunity with his real team.
The PFN Start/Sit Optimizer projects McLaughlin to finish with 33 rush yards, with one catch for eight yards.
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