For several weeks leading up to Week 10, Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton had hinted that rookie running back Audric Estime could get more involved on offense.
Estime then led the team in snaps (26), carries (14) and rushing yards (53) against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 10, and the hype went through the roof. Admittedly, Broncos Wire was at the forefront of the campaign to add Estime in fantasy football leagues. In hindsight, we might have overestimated Estime’s future workload.
Javonte Williams returned to leading the backfield against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 11, rushing nine times for 59 yards and a touchdown. Estime got six carries for 16 yards and Jaleel McLaughlin rushed four times for 19 yards.
So, what should we expect from the team’s backfield rotation going forward?
“That’s the $6 million question,” Payton said after Wednesday’s practice. “It’s difficult. We know kind of what we have with those three players and it’s just — it’s always hard to feed three. I’m used to — and it’s easy — to feed two. So we kind of do that a little bit.
“I thought Javonte had some really good runs. Certainly, the game ends and we’re like, ‘Gosh, we’ve got to get Jaleel more touches.’ So it’s a tough, but a good problem to have.”
That answer from Payton won’t provide much clarity.
Payton clearly likes Estime, but the running back has not leapfrogged Williams on the depth chart. It might be difficult to predict the utilization of the team’s three backs on a week-to-week basis.
After the win against Atlanta, Payton said, “We’ll figure it out each week though and kind of plan accordingly.”
Unfortunately, that’s not a very helpful explanation for fantasy football managers. At the moment, though, Williams seems to be the RB1.
