Samaje Perine

The NFL season kicks in under one week, as the Baltimore Ravens are set to take on the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, and Andy Reid has clarified the status of Samaje Perine, Juju Smith-Schuster, Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Hollywood Brown. Both Perine and Smith-Schuster are recent additions with Perine being claimed off of waivers from the Denver Broncos and Smith-Schuster signing off the street earlier this week, but they are both acclimated and available to take snaps in needed on Thursday against the Ravens. Unfortunately for Hollywood Brown, the shoulder injury he suffered week one of the preseason will keep him out of week one of the regular season. Clyde Edwards-Helaire was placed on the NFI list and will miss at least the first four games to start the season.

Perine projects to compete for back up running back touches with Carson Steele, but the veteran has a lot of experience in both catching out of the backfield and pass protection. It’s entirely possible Perine carves out a role similar to what Jerick McKinnon used to bring the team ,but don’t count on that right out of the gate. As for Smith-Schuster, his familiarity with the offense is a plus as far as getting him up to speed goes, but still don’t expect his snap counts to be substantial unless the Chiefs receivers get decimated by injuries.

Brown suffered a dislocated sternoclavicular shoulder joint in the Chiefs week one preseason game and was originally slated to miss 4-6 weeks. The Chiefs opening game comes just shy of four weeks from the initial injury so his lack of availability at the moment should come as no surprise. Weeks two and three however become interesting and will be worth monitoring. Luckily for Brown and the Chiefs, they get 10 days to rest up for their week two game. Brown’s absence gives an immediate boost to Travis Kelce and Rashee Rice as both have chemistry already built with Patrick Mahomes and he can lean on both as Xavier Worthy grows and Holloywood Brown works his way back.

Tim Patrick was quickly signed to the Lions practice squad with the intention to elevate him to the 53-man roster and give him an opportunity to play on Sundays. While Patrick was getting hyped up as a potential starter for the Broncos, his situation ends as a wash with him landing on a better offense but having a harder path to contribute.

Samaje Perine figures to find work as a depth player in another offense, and a potential return to the Bengals playing behind Zack Moss and Chase Brown shouldn’t be ruled out. While we’ll ned to figure out where Perine will land, it’s safe to assume he won’t be a relevant fantasy contributor in 2024. No running back was targeted in the two-minute offense more than Perine last year, so look for Jaleel McLaughlin and rookie Blake Watson to soak up those targets as the change-of-pace backs on the Broncos roster.

Blake Watson is a deep fantasy sleeper who went to Memphis and displayed tremendous explosiveness and pass catching ability. At one point in the offseason, Head Coach Sean Payton said the vision was similar to what he had with Alvin Kamara when they signed Blake Watson. While he’ll be the clear RB4 behind Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime, Watson could see more opportunity throughout the season as injuries occur.

It was a long, rarely traveled road to the NFL for undrafted Denver Broncos rookie running back Jaleel McLaughlin. At 5’7″ and 183 pounds, McLaughlin doesn’t fit the running back prototype. He began his college career at Division II Notre Dame College and finished at FCS Youngstown State, neither school known for producing NFL players. Going undrafted and signing with the Broncos as a rookie free-agent isn’t a path to success either. Now McLaughlin finds himself as the 3rd string backup to Javonte Williams and Samaje Perine, and he will be on the sidelines, ready to go, when the Broncos host the Las Vegas Raiders in their 2023 season opener.

McLaughlin impressed coaches and teammates enough in training camp to make the 53-man roster. “I’ll tell you what, man, he’s been the star of this camp,” said Broncos OT Mike McGlinchey. Head Coach Sean Payton was free with the accolades, as well. “He passed every test. From the minute he showed up in rookie minicamp, it wasn’t too big. Then he’s working out with the big boys on varsity and it wasn’t too big. Then we get the pads on and he makes plays every day.”

Barring catastrophe, McLaughlin likely won’t contribute in fantasy, but he sure is a fun story.