Jaleel McLaughlin - Fantasy Points Outlook

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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