Denver Broncos starting running back Javonte Williams had a quiet day on the ground against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, rushing five times for 12 yards with a terrible 2.4 yards per carry average. Jaleel McLaughlin’s average (1.4 YPC) was even worse as he rushed five times for seven yards.
Denver’s offense got a spark in the fourth quarter when Tyler Badie entered the game and made the most of his opportunities. Sticking with the hot hand, Broncos coach Sean Payton gave Badie all seven carries in the fourth quarter against the Bucs and the 24-year-old back totaled 70 yards on the ground.
“He’s been really decisive,” Payton said of Badie. “He’s had some big runs for us. He’s smart. He knows the system. He’s good in the passing game, he brings a lot.”
Badie only played in two of the team’s three games this season, but he leads the team’s running backs in yards (86) and yards per carry (8.6). Badie has a small sample size of just 10 carries, but he’s earned the right to get more opportunities. Denver’s staff seemingly agrees with that assessment as Badie was promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster this week.
#Broncos RB Tyler Badie on being clocked at 20.99 mph on 43-yard run vs. Bucs, second fastest for a ball carrier in Week 3 of NFL. "I’m very fast. Shoot, I wish I would have scored. But I got a little tight. My legs were a little tight. Definitely I pride myself on being fast."
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) September 26, 2024
“He played great Sunday,” quarterback Bo Nix said of Badie’s performance in Week 3. “He provides extra depth for us at back. He’s just another one of those guys in the backfield that can provide explosive plays. We’re happy to get him and continue his production.
“At the same time, Jaleel and Javonte are going to continue to do what they do and what makes them great. I think we have a really good running back group right now.”
Nix, understandably so, gave a diplomatic response about the backfield, but fans want to see more from Badie. It is worth noting that Williams remains the team’s best pass-blocking running back. Badie is also two inches shorter and, more importantly, 23 pounds lighter than Williams. So Badie probably doesn’t have the size to emerge as a workhorse back, but could he be more involved going forward?
“We’ll see,” Payton said when asked what kind of role he envisions for Badie. “He’ll be kind of — we’ve taken three backs to a game and we’ll kind of continue to mix up the roles based on what we’re doing.”
Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi hinted this week that the team is not giving up on Williams or McLaughlin despite their poor numbers.
“Obviously Tyler got in there and had the big run, and he’s a guy that we really like,” Lombardi said. “[But] the run game is one of those things where not every run is going to be a 20-yard gain, and you stick with it, thinking you know the players that you have. Just because the stats tell you that they’re not gaining a bunch of yards doesn’t mean that they’ve all of a sudden turned to crap. So you just keep handing them the ball and know that we’ll keep getting better, the plan will keep getting better and we’ll keep blocking better. Their big runs are coming.
“It’s just like anything, it’s tempting when you’ve run the ball a few times early and you’re not gaining yards and just say, ‘To heck with this, we’re just going to start throwing.’ The run game is one of those things that if you stick with it, you’re going to start busting some runs. It’s just a patience thing and just getting better when we do run it.”
Badie was the team’s third-string running back in each of the last two games with rookie Blake Watson being a healthy scratch. Williams, McLaughlin and Badie figure to remain the three RBs dressing on game days. How the touches are divided up among them remains to be seen.
