The Denver Broncos rushing stable just got bigger with the addition of Notre Dame running back Audric Estime. How does this impact the current running back room in Denver?

Denver Broncos draft Notre Dame RB Audric Estime

The Denver Broncos rushing offense wasn’t good enough in the 2023 NFL season and Sean Payton is eager for that to change in 2024. With Denver snagging their next hopeful franchise quarterback in Bo Nix, Payton believes that having a good defense and strong rushing attack are two pieces that can help a young QB thrive quicker.

“This is the first time I’ve been involved as part of a group or part of a team that drafted a quarterback in the first round,” Payton said after the team drafted Nix. “We’ve tried to do it before and it’s exciting. The challenge is exciting, but it’s still you want good quarterback play. The two biggest allies to that I believe strongly are good defensive play and a running game. In other words, if you are a quarterback and you’re having trouble running the ball—or let’s get worse—if you’re a quarterback and you’re having trouble running the ball or stopping people, your job description becomes very difficult. When you’re playing good defense and you have a running game, your job description is a little bit more palatable.”

Could this be where Audric Estime comes into play? The Notre Dame running back isn’t necessarily the fastest or most explosive back in the game, but he has demonstrated the ability to change directions quickly and use his power to pick up hard-fought yardage.

The 6’1, 215 lb bruising tailback appeared in 12 games last season, rushing for 210 times for 1341 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground. In 2022, Estime ran for 11 touchdowns.

In Notre Dame’s final game of the year, Estime went off for 238 yards and four rushing touchdowns against Stanford, averaging nearly 10 yards per carry.

His size will offer the Broncos plenty of opportunities in the red zone and short-yardage situations to move the ball. On top of that, his size also gives Denver stability in pass protection.

What does this mean for the rest of the running back group? Javonte Williams, Samaje Perine, and Jaleel McLaughlin are under contract for Denver in 2024, but beyond that is up in the air.

Perine and Williams both had heavy workloads last season in the passing game and rushing game, but Denver’s offense wasn’t efficient enough to put up points in key moments where it mattered. The Broncos rushing attack also struggled to produce touchdowns on the ground.

Estime’s addition allows Payton and the team to evaluate beyond just 2024 and gives them a new weapon to use in the backfield as the team builds around Nix going forward.