This is the second year in the Sean Payton regime, and the Broncos are still trying to find their footing. Payton wants to mold his Denver team in his own image like he did with New Orleans, but Drew Brees is not going to be suiting up anytime soon for the Broncos—and neither will Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas, nor Jimmy Graham.
Nix may be the perfect quarterback for Sean Payton’s offense. He’s a lot like Drew Brees in that he’s an intelligent quarterback without the biggest arm who can make quick reads. He also has some mobility, and I think he’ll be underestimated in fantasy drafts. I like him more in dynasty leagues as he continues to grow within the confines of this offense.
Admittedly, I’m a little worried about Williams because he just doesn’t seem like the perfect fit in this offense. Payton always likes to rotate three running backs, and Williams should be a guy who can play all three downs, but I don’t think he’s going to be a workhorse back.
Don’t be shocked to see McLaughlin become the primary receiving back. He’s shifty, can block, and makes big plays. He’s also a little bit better at the goal line than most people realize.
Estime is a big, bruising back from Notre Dame, who should be involved on first and second downs. He’s not skilled at catching the ball, but in an offense that likes to rotate running backs, I can see him having a Jamaal Williams-type short-yardage role.
It just seems like Sutton has been on the outs in Denver for years, but they can’t seem to trade him. Last season, they took Marvin Mims in the draft, and this year, they drafted Troy Franklin. Moreover, they signed Josh Reynolds in free agency, so it appears that Sutton will be phased out at some point and could be a very good trade chip.
Mims has a lot of talent, but for some reason, Payton didn’t like putting him on the field in critical situations. Franklin was the WR1 for Nix at Oregon, so they do have an excellent connection, and he probably has the most upside. Reynolds has played for the Rams and Lions, but in the playoffs, he had a couple of huge drops, so it’s hard to count on him in pressure situations. One of these three should emerge, and if I had a bet on it, I would say it would be Franklin.
Denver plays in a tough division, and they just don’t have enough horses (no pun intended) to be relevant in either fantasy or reality.
