The Denver Broncos are in action on Thursday night as they travel to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the Kansas City Chiefs.
Things have gotten bad in Denver, as the Broncos fell to 1-4 after the loss to the New York Jets last Sunday. One shining spot in that game was the performance of the running backs. Samaje Perine (95 total yards of offense) and Jaleel McLaughlin (89 total yards, one touchdown) were both solid in the loss and figure to be in the game plan for Thursday night.
However, Javonte Williams appears to be getting healthy, too, leaving a tough question for fantasy football managers.
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Javonte Williams’ Fantasy Outlook This Week
Willams was expected to be the No. 1 running back at the start of the year, but he was being brought back slowly after tearing his ACL last season. He got hurt in the Bears game two weeks ago, carrying the ball twice before leaving because of injury.
He missed the game against the Jets but has been cleared to go against the Chiefs. Williams has two 100-yard games in his career, with one of them being against the Chiefs in 2021. Kansas City is one of the better defenses in the league, but running the ball against them is the way to go.
While Williams has been cleared, the other two running backs have been solid and are coming off good games.
Samaje Perine’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
Perine is coming off his best game in Denver, finishing with 95 total yards of offense. Most of his production came in the passing game, as he had four catches for 73 yards. He is a good option out of the backfield and one of the best blocking running backs in the league.
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While that doesn’t give you fantasy points, it will give Perine a spot on the field.
If there was one negative on Sunday, Perine did lose a fumble against the Jets. Turnovers have been an issue this year for the Broncos, as they have eight in five games. It has been especially on fumbles, as they have lost six.
Jaleel McLaughlin’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
McLaughlin earned a spot because of injuries, but his play has warranted a lot of looks. He is currently leading the Broncos with 160 rushing yards, and that is with only 20 in the first three games.
In his last two games, he has 72 and 68 yards, respectively, while also catching six passes. The Broncos’ offensive line isn’t among the best in the NFL, but he has shown some explosiveness to make plays and overcome O-line struggles.
Coach Sean Payton said after the game two weeks ago that he has shown enough to be in the game plan moving forward, and he absolutely was against the Jets.
Which of the Broncos RBs Should You Start?
It won’t be easy for any of these running backs against the Chiefs, but the play here is definitely McLaughlin.
In the Pro Football Network Start/Sit Optimizer, our consensus rankings from the PFN fantasy team agree that McLaughlin is the player to start. His projected 9.9 points include 53 rushing yards, 2 receptions, and 13 yards. That doesn’t seem like a big stat line, but it outperforms the consensus projection for Javonte Williams (8.8 points) and Samaje Perine (7.4 points).
What he has done the past two weeks has been very impressive, and Payton and the Broncos staff really like what he brings to the team. One of the issues for Williams early in the year was that he lacked pre-injury explosiveness.
The Broncos are a team lacking big-play ability, which separates McLaughlin from the other two running backs. Perine is a valuable backup, but he doesn’t have the ceiling to be in your lineup against the Chiefs. If one of these guys were to have some big plays against the Chiefs, it is McLaughlin.