Coach Sean Payton bet on himself with Bo Nix, staking his legacy to a quarterback that critics view with a low ceiling, but he believes will exceed expectations.
Notre Dame running back Audric Estime, right, is tackled by Wake Forest defensive back Malik Mustapha, left, during the first half of an NCAA college football game in South Bend, Ind., Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023. The Broncos have shown they are motivated to fit around Nix rather than the other way around.
For the first month of Payton’s first season, the Broncos ranked among the league leaders in yards per carry. In their most complete performance of the season, they left tire tracks on the Cleveland Browns’ chest with a season-high 169 yards rushing. Then they became Forrest Gump. They were done running, went home and stopped winning. They averaged 78.8 yards on the ground over the final four games.
It happened with the Rams last year with Puka Nacua. He was a fifth-round pick who caught 105 passes and six touchdowns. I am not suggesting Estime will have that impact. But so many good Broncos offenses over the past three decades featured a surprise contribution from a running back. Terrell Davis reached the Hall of Fame with his ability to put his foot in the ground and go north and south. But there was also memorable impacts from Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson, Reuben Droughns and C.J.
Find me a more intimidating running back in this draft. I will hang up and listen. Estime is a bruiser. Could he use more burst? Yes. But when he sat on the board, it was an auto pick. The value was impossible to pass up. Payton views him as a first- and second-down back. They comped him internally with at least one star runner who had a history of wearing down defenses, of taking away the will to tackle.
He was a sled horse. He played in an offense with pro-style concepts. He picked up the dirty yards, and he did not need Siri to find the end zone. He finished with an Irish single-season 18 touchdowns. Williams led the Broncos with three rushing scores.
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