Broncos RB Javonte Williams racked up 25 touches in Monday night's win at Buffalo. That included his second straight game of 21+ carries and third straight game with at least 3 receptions. Williams has seen his three largest touch counts of the season -- 18, 30, 25 -- over the past three games. The receiving work has stayed in line with earlier performances, while the carries have climbed significantly. Winning three straight games has certainly helped. Denver spent a surprising amount of time leading both the Chiefs and Bills the past two games. The defense seems to have improved quite a bit, delivering its four best weekly DVOA ratings over the past four games. That included the best performance of any defense -- by a wide margin -- in Week 8 against K.C. If that continues, it'll help Williams' chances of continued higher rushing volume. The Broncos get negative RB-scoring matchups with the Vikings and Browns the next two weeks, but expect competitive games to help Williams' touch counts. He'll likely land comfortably inside RB2 range in our rankings for those two contests, with greater matchup upside over the final five fantasy weeks.
Broncos RB Javonte Williams posted a mini breakout in Week 7. On a season-high 15 carries, he gained 82 yards (5.5 per attempt) while adding 3 receptions. Williams easily led the way in snaps (31) and narrowly edged Samaje Perine in routes (13 to 10) and targets (4 to 3). Jaleel McLaughlin remained a factor with 2 targets and 5 catches. Ultimately, Williams’ health looks to be on the rise, so there’s reason for optimism going forward. He’ll look for his first TD of 2023 this week vs. Kansas City.
Broncos RB Javonte Williams (quad) is inactive for today’s game vs. the Jets. That leaves backfield duties to Jaleen McLaughlin and Samaje Perine. We’re expecting something close to a 50/50 split between them, but McLaughlin has been the better player this year and is the preferred fantasy start.
The Broncos want to work out RB Javonte Williams (quad) before today's game before deciding whether he'll play vs. the Jets. It's a slight surprise after Williams was a full participant in Friday's practice. We'll look for further updates on Williams but won't get Denver's inactives until a little before 3 pm ET. You need to have a late-game replacement lined up if you're hoping to start Williams.
Broncos RB Javonte Williams (quad) is listed as questionable for this weekend’s game vs. the Jets. He went from no practice on Wednesday to a limited practice on Thursday to full participation on Friday. That seemingly has Williams on track to play this weekend. We’ll look for further updates on his status. We won’t get Denver’s inactives until around 3 pm ET on Sunday.
Broncos RB Javonte Williams (quad) returned to a limited practice on Thursday. He seemingly has a chance to play vs. the Jets this weekend. We'll see what Williams does on Friday and how he's listed on the final injury report.
Broncos RB Javonte Williams did not practice on Wednesday. He's listed on the injury report with a quad, rather than the previously reported hip. Regardless, Williams is in real danger of missing this weekend's game vs. the Jets. His absence would leave Denver's backfield to Samaje Perine and Jaleel McLaughlin.
Broncos RB Javonte Williams is dealing with a hip flexor issue, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. "He is not expected to miss much if any time," Schefter adds. We'll track Williams' status throughout this coming week, but it sounds like he has a chance to play vs. the Jets next Sunday.
RB Jaleel McLaughlin led the Broncos with seven carries and 72 rushing yards in Sunday's win over the Bears. RB Javonte Williams was knocked out early in the second quarter with a hip injury. McLaughlin tallied six carries and two targets the rest of the way to RB Samaje Perine’s five carries and two targets. McLaughlin was clearly the more explosive back, ripping off a 31-yard run and an 18-yard TD catch. Don't expect McLaughlin to dominate backfield work if Williams misses time. But based on what we saw today, it looks like he'd be the better fantasy play than Perine.
Broncos RB Javonte Williams suffered a hip injury in the first half of Sunday's game vs. the Bears and is questionable to return. We'll pass along an update when we get one. Williams' absence leaves Denver's backfield to Samaje Perine and Jaleel McLaughlin.
Update: Williams has been ruled out.
Broncos RB Javonte Williams took 11 carries for 42 yards in an ugly loss to Miami. The good news is that Williams looked explosive on a few runs. Denver, though, failed to keep this one close, which limited Williams’ touches. We also saw Samaje Perine and Jaleel McLaughlin sub in near the goal line. We’ll see if Williams’ role grows at all for a Week 4 date at Chicago.
Broncos RB Javonte Williams earned 15 of 21 team RB opportunities in Sunday’s loss to Washington. Nice usage in general, although he lost out on a goal line TD to reserve RB Jaleel McLaughlin. Williams watched Samaje Perine take passing down snaps, too (23 routes run vs. 12). Denver draws a tough Dolphins D in Week 3. They just limited New England RBs to 63 yards on 20 attempts.
Cecil Lammey and Andrew Mason of Denver Sports expect Broncos RB Jaleel McLaughlin to have a role on offense in Sunday's opener vs. the Raiders. Lammey threw out a prediction of a 40/40/20 split between Javonte Williams, Samaje Perine, and McLaughlin. "Jaleel is trusted on those passing downs ... situations where you need that big play," Lammey added. It's certainly worth remembering that HC Sean Payton often deployed 3-RB committees with the Saints. McLaughlin is certainly not a Week 1 fantasy option, but garnering even a few touches would put a dent in Williams and Perine's fantasy value.
Broncos RB Javonte Williams is not listed on the Week 1 injury report. He'll play on Sunday vs. the Raiders -- his first regular-season game since last October's multi-ligament knee injury. HC Sean Payton said Wednesday that Williams will have a "big role" this weekend. "I haven’t put together a [snap] number for him," Payton added. "He’s moving well. He’s strong and healthy." We're still expecting Williams to at least open the season in a fairly even committee with RB Samaje Perine. But Williams should see enough work to at least be a RB3 or flex play in Week 1.
NFL Network’s James Palmer reports that Broncos RB Javonte Williams (knee) is not expected to start training camp on the PUP list. That would mean there’s no chance for him to open the regular season on the PUP. That’s obviously great news for his early-season outlook and the overall status of Williams’ knee. He’s been going at a low-risk level in early fantasy football drafts
Broncos RB Samaje Perine left practice on Wednesday with a thumb injury. Perine walked to the locker room with Denver’s training staff, although HC Sean Payton downplayed the injury later on. We’re not expecting Perine to be limited for the start of training camp.
UPDATE: Perine's injury was a thumb bruise. Carry on.
Nick Kosmider of The Athletic believes RB Samaje Perine “should be a fixture of Denver’s offense, regardless of when [Javonte] Williams returns.” It certainly sounds like new HC Sean Payton agrees. “When we signed Samaje, this is a guy that gave us flexibility,” Payton said. “We signed him because we knew he was durable and reliable. We felt like we got another solid runner who’s built in a strong way. There are a lot of things he does well. When we signed him, there was still uncertainty (with Williams). I was taught a long time ago to stack them up at that position. It’s a tough position in our league.” We’ll continue tracking the ACL/LCL rehab for Williams, who looks close to 50/50 for Week 1. For now, Perine’s Round 9 ADP on Underdog Fantasy looks tempting.
The Broncos have agreed to a two-year, $7.5 million deal with RB Samaje Perine. This contract also includes an additional $1 million in potential incentives. Perine makes a lot of sense for the Broncos given the uncertain recovery timeline for RB Javonte Williams, who tore his ACL in Week 4 of 2022 vs. the Raiders. Even if Williams is able to recover in time to play a majority of the 2023 season, Perine stands to shoulder a decent amount of the rushing workload in a Sean Payton-led offense that historically uses a committee approach at RB. The Broncos have invested heavily in their offensive line this offseason as well, inking large contracts with T Mike McGlinchey and G Ben Powers so far. How much this move impacts fantasy will depend on the health of Williams, but this move is far from insignificant, especially if the Broncos don't spend any more on the RB position this offseason.
The Athletic's Jay Morrison writes that the Bengals cutting RB Joe Mixon "feels closer to a certainty than a mere possibility." The move would save Cincinnati $7.3 million against the 2023 salary cap. "The Bengals envisioned this scenario coming into play when they signed Mixon to a four-year, $48 million contract in 2020, and structured the deal so that they could get out of it two years early without much of a hit," Morrison adds. Mixon averaged just 58 rushing yards per game on 3.9 yards per carry last year. He ranked 47th among 51 qualifying RBs in Pro Football Focus' Elusive Rating and 27th in NFL Next Gen Stats' Rush Yards Over Expected Per Attempt. Mixon was also accused of pointing a gun at a woman in downtown Cincinnati in January. We'll see if the Bengals send him packing before the start of free agency in mid-March. RB Samaje Perine is set to hit the open market then, leaving Chris Evans as Cincinnati's only other RB signed for 2023. Expect the Bengals to make a significant addition to the backfield -- via free agency or the draft -- if they do cut Mixon.
Bengals RB Joe Mixon only managed to record 21 yards on 11 carries in Sunday's win vs. the Buccaneers. Fortunately, Mixon made up for the less-than-stellar effort by adding 5 catches and 33 yards in the receiving game. Teammate Samaje Perine did not find much success either with 7 carries for 24 yards and one catch for no gain. Week 16's showdown against the Patriots will be difficult next week, as the Pats D ranks as the single-most difficult matchup in adjusted fantasy points allowed to RBs this season. As such, fantasy managers advancing in the playoffs should temper expectations for Mixon moving forward.
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