ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — It’s clear the plan Sean Payton and George Paton have for Jaleel McLaughlin is to bring the rookie running back along relatively slowly.
Undrafted in late April, despite rushing for an NCAA all-division record of 8,161 yards across five seasons at Division II Notre Dame College and Subdivision Youngstown State, McLaughlin has brought excitement to training camp.
Yet, the speedster is listed No. 5 on the Denver Broncos’ running back depth chart. And there is no sixth running back.
In the Broncos’ preseason opener Friday night against Arizona, No. 1 running back Javonte Williams was held out, No. 2 back Samaje Perine got the first 20 plays, No. 3 Tyler Badie got 25 of the next 26 plays and No. 4 Tony Jones Jr. got nine snaps before McLaughlin was inserted on offense for the first time with 4:38 remaining.
McLaughlin was key on the Broncos’ final, 87-yard touchdown drive. He got the first play, a handoff, for seven yards. He converted a second-and-one with a strong four-yard run. He caught a checkdown, or screen, from quarterback Ben DiNucci for 12 yards, although it was slightly concerning McLaughlin fumbled the ball out of bounds.
On his third carry, McLaughlin was hit behind the line, but he broke the tackle and scooted forward for five yards. And then he finished the drive with a go-ahead four-yard touchdown in which Arizona’s defenders clearly let up to allow McLaughlin to score with 1:30 left.
“Overall, pretty good,’’ Broncos head coach Sean Payton said of McLaughlin. “Pretty good. He had the ball come out once on one run, but we will see it on tape. We will have a chance to correct it.”
Arizona quarterback David Blough confirmed in his press conference afterward that his defense let McLaughlin score so he would have time to answer. McLaughlin wasn’t sure about the Cards’ strategy but he wasn’t surprised by it, either.
“I believe in the defense,’’ McLaughlin said. “So if that’s what they were doing, hey, I believe in our defense and I’ll believe in them every time.”
Payton smartly explained that because Arizona had two timeouts remaining, three Broncos rush attempts and three stops would have left about 50 seconds remaining and the Broncos to kick a go-ahead field goal for a 13-10 lead. Better take the touchdown.
Payton decided the percentages would have been greater for Arizona to get a tying field goal with 50 seconds remaining than getting seven points with 1:30 left. That’s not analytics. It’s math.
Just because the Cardinals scored and converted the two-point conversion with two seconds remaining to win it, 18-17, doesn’t mean they made the right call percentage-wise, initially.
Anyway, McLaughlin. He’s only 5-foot-7, 187 pounds – roughly Phillip Lindsay-sized – and because he’s a rookie, it could be one reason why McLaughlin has been held back some is because he needs to improve in pass protection. But at least until second-round rookie receiver Marvin Mims Jr. is ready for full-time duty, McLaughlin is the Broncos’ most explosive offensive player. General manager George Paton doesn’t figure to have much chance of sliding McLaughlin through waivers onto the practice squad for more development, so Payton may have to eventually spot McLaughlin with the first or second team.
But McLaughlin knows he must get better with all the nuances that come with the running back position if he wants to get promoted.
“I’m just trying to get smarter with the game, learning from those guys,’’ McLaughlin said. “I keep repeating but it’s really true— learning from those guys, that’s what I’m trying to get better and better and better at.’’
Offensive line gets mixed reviews
On the plus side, the Broncos’ offensive line did a nice job run blocking. The Broncos rushed 22 times at 5.5 yards per carry. But the wall of protection had a few too many leaks in the passing game. Starting quarterback Russell Wilson was sacked once and smacked hard a couple other times. In all, Arizona’s defense had eight quarterback hits.
Right tackle Mike McGlinchey, recovering from a knee sprain, was missed. And left tackle Garett Bolles and new left guard Ben Powers need more time working together.
Pleasant surprises
Three Broncos players who stood out Friday against the Cardinals but hadn’t received much notice until then were cornerback JaQuan McMillian, defensive lineman Elijah Garcia and nickelback Essang Bassey.
McMillian was an undrafted rookie out of East Carolina last year. He spent the first 16 games over 17 weeks on the practice squad, then was called up to start for the concussed Damarri Mathis in the season finale against the Chargers. Feast or famine, McMillian played 68 defensive snaps in that final game and was third on the team with seven tackles.
This year, McMillian figured to be the No. 4 cornerback behind Pat Surtain, Mathis and third-round rookie Riley Moss. But with Surtain sitting out the preseason opener and Moss recovering from core muscle surgery, McMillian not only started Friday against the Cards, he got a sack and another tackle late in the third quarter.
Garcia was also an undrafted rookie last year, although he spent most of his time on the Rams’ practice squad. When injuries depleted the Broncos’ defensive front with a month ago, Paton signed Garcia away from the Rams. Garcia played in the Broncos’ final two games last season and had two sacks in a three-play, fourth-quarter sequence Friday.
Bassey was an undrafted rookie surprise for the Broncos in 2020 but suffered a torn ACL late that season. He barely played in 2021, filled in here and there for K’Waun Williams at nickel last season, and spelled Williams again for the preseason opener. Bassey made an interception on Denver D’s second series, and later made a nice kick save and recovery on Matt Prater’s low liner off a kickoff.
Bronco Bits
Credit defensive tackle Matt Henningsen for addressing the game-deciding two-point conversion run by Arizona running back Emeri Demercado. Henningsen had a good overall game, as he was a constant disruptive force in the Cardinals’ backfield. As he was again on the 2-point play. Henningsen had his arms around Demercado’s shoulder pads behind the line of scrimmage, but a push from behind by Arizona’s offensive linemen delivered forward momentum into the end zone for the running back. “I got to bring him down,’’ Henningsen said. And his overall performance? “A lot to learn from. A lot of things good, a lot to improve from.”
Backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham had a tough game passing (five of 15 with an interception) but he scrambled for two first downs.
DiNucci played well with the No. 3 offense in the fourth quarter. He made two terrific off-script plays on his final, go-ahead touchdown drive– a scramble up the pocket and toss to receiver Michael Bandy for a 10-yard completion to convert a third down, then a Houdini escape-and-throw for a 22-yard pass interference penalty to set up first-and-goal from the four.
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