Samaje Perine Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Broncos RB Javonte Williams didn't just let you down with his production in Saturday night's loss to the Lions. He saw his playing time and route participation tumble. It started with Denver putting Jaleel McLaughlin on the field to open the game. Williams took over for the second possession and still led the backfield in playing time and touches. But his 48% playing time for the game marked his lowest since a Week 6 return from a quad injury. That followed three straight games of 60%+. His biggest dip came in the passing game. Williams ran a route on just 25.7% of QB Russell Wilson's dropbacks. That marked a significant fall vs. three straight outings of 40.5% or more. Williams ran just nine routes vs. eight for Samaje Perine and five for Jaleel McLaughlin. Combine that with now seven straight games of averaging less than 3.9 yards per carry, and it's tough to see Williams as more than an "if you need him" starter for a Week 16 matchup with the Patriots. We'll see about his role and performance in that game before declaring his usability for a better matchup with the Chargers in Week 17. Perine drew just 1 target for the game but caught it for 11 yards and averaged 6.2 yards across his 6 carries. That followed a 5-catch Week 14 and couldn't have hurt his chances at getting playing time the rest of the way. McLaughlin garnered just 4 touches for the game. He has topped 6 touches just once in his past eight games.

Broncos RB Samaje Perine (knee) is active for today’s game vs. the Chargers. He didn’t practice on Friday but is evidently heathy enough to suit up today. Perine will likely continue to handle obvious passing downs for Denver but isn’t a viable fantasy play.

Broncos RB Samaje Perine (knee) is expected to play vs. the Chargers today, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. Perine figures to continue to play in passing situations but isn't a viable fantasy option.

Broncos RB Samaje Perine (knee) is questionable for this weekend’s game vs. the Chargers. He was a full-go on Wednesday and Thursday but did not practice on Friday. Hopefully Perine wasn’t in your Week 14 fantasy plans. But his absence would be a boost to RB Javonte Williams’ target projection. Perine has averaged 3.3 targets per game this season.

Broncos rookie RB Jaleel McLaughlin grabbed attention with some high-efficiency performances earlier this season and briefly moved ahead of Samaje Perine in playing time and usage. McLaughlin has continued to garner a lot more carries than Perine, leading the veteran 22-4 in the four games since Javonte Williams returned from injury. But Perine has played more snaps than McLaughlin each of the past three games, including Monday night in the win over Buffalo. Perine's primary role obviously lies in passing situations, where he's splitting time with Williams. That hasn't meant more than 3 targets in a game since Williams returned. But it will limit McLaughlin's opportunities. McLaughlin has remained the touch leader between them over the past three games, but neither looks usable vs. Williams' current role -- unless you're desperate for an RB.

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