The Denver Broncos struggled on the ground last week against the Minnesota Vikings, rushing for a season-low 46 yards. But if you need an option from the Broncos to start in your fantasy football lineup this week, should it be Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin, or Samaje Perine?
Should You Start Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin, or Samaje Perine This Week?
In the Pro Football Network Start/Sit Optimizer, our Consensus Rankings say that Williams is the player to start. His projected 13.9 points include 51 rushing yards, six catches, and 29 receiving yards. That projected stat line easily outperforms the consensus projections of McLaughlin’s 5.5 points and Perine’s 5.3 points.
My ranking for these three running backs aligns with the consensus.
Fantasy Outlook for Williams This Week
Last week’s effort by Williams against the Vikings — 37 rushing yards — snapped a three-game streak of rushing for at least 70 yards.
Even though he’s averaging fewer than four yards per carry for the season (3.9), there are reasons to prefer Williams this week over McLaughlin or Perine.
Williams has been a workhorse for the Broncos in the backfield this season. With the exception of the Bears game in Week 4 when he suffered a quad injury after just two carries, Williams has at least 10 carries in every game he’s played this season.
Over his last three games, he’s averaging 23 touches a game — including 30 back in Week 8 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
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Williams’ carries shouldn’t go away this week just because he is facing the Cleveland Browns’ defense. Cleveland allowed a season-high 172 rushing yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week.
If Denver plans to run the ball this week, I’m guessing Williams will be the recipient of those carries.
Fantasy Outlook for McLaughlin This Week
In his limited time on the field, McLaughlin has been solid. Despite just 45 carries for the season, McLaughlin is still averaging over six yards a carry (6.2). On top of that, he has 19 receptions on the season — 18 of those coming over his last seven games, and five coming just last week against the Vikings.
But over his last four games, McLaughlin has been on the field for a total of 37 of the Broncos’ offensive snaps, which comes out to only 9.3 per game. There simply haven’t been enough touches for McLaughlin to support putting him as a starter over Williams.
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As the season winds down, however, I expect McLaughlin to get featured more often.
The PFN Start/Sit Optimizer projects McLaughlin to finish with 30 rushing yards and one reception for eight yards.
Fantasy Outlook for Perine This Week
Perine has been used almost exclusively as a pass catcher lately. Over his last three games, Perine has 12 receptions and just three carries. For the season, the ratio of receptions to carries is 32-to-29.
Still, he has been effective receiving out of the backfield. Perine had a season-high seven catches for 60 yards last week against Minnesota.
Perine (knee) did show up as having a limited practice on Wednesday, so this could be something worth monitoring for the rest of the week.
The PFN Start/Sit Optimizer projects Perine to finish with 13 rushing yards and two catches for 12 yards.
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