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RB Jaleel McLaughlin, DEN (2 Viewers)

S

Stoneworker

Footballguy
Rookie Jaleel McLaughlin has officially made the Broncos' 53-man roster as RB3, and so time for his own thread. Below is the post I made after the first preseason game, as well as a few highlights.

- Jaleel McLaughlin (DEN) is potentially someone to put on the deep cut watch list at RB.

- In the mold of Darren Sproles at 5'7" 190lbs. 4.4 speed, shifty, good receiver, etc.

- UDFA out of Youngstown State. NCAA all-time leading rusher at 8.2K yards (small school, 5 yrs).

- Turning heads all throughout Broncos' TC to date. First showing last night was impressive (sans fumble out-of-bounds).

- Increasing his odds daily of making the 53-man roster and may even make it as high as RB3 behind Perine and JW by start of season.

ESPN article from 8-25-23

Preseason Game 3 Highlights (vs. Rams)

Preseason Game 2 Highlights (vs. 49ers)

Preseason Game 1 Highlights (vs. AZ)

College Highlights
 
Stoneworker said:
In the mold of Darren Sproles at 5'7" 190lbs. 4.4 speed, shifty, good receiver, etc.
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Interesting comp. Sproles was fantastic, but also played at a better college.
I picked McLaughlin up on waivers (yes one of my leagues has waivers in the off season) because he reminded me of Tarik Cohen. Cohen was a pretty good rookie just didn’t last long in the league.
 
-OZ- said:
Stoneworker said:
In the mold of Darren Sproles at 5'7" 190lbs. 4.4 speed, shifty, good receiver, etc.
Click to expand...
Interesting comp. Sproles was fantastic, but also played at a better college.
I picked McLaughlin up on waivers (yes one of my leagues has waivers in the off season) because he reminded me of Tarik Cohen. Cohen was a pretty good rookie just didn’t last long in the league.
Click to expand...
Nice comp.

It was Sean Payton that originally alluded to Sproles (along with R. Bush and A. Kamara) when referring to McLaughlin's potential role earlier in training camp. Not talent-wise, which of course would be a big leap and is TBD.

"Over the years, we've had kind of a joker player in Bush and Sproles, Kamara," Payton said of the talented tailbacks he coached in New Orleans. "Those guys are running backs, and yet they do some other things in the passing game that gives them that tag. You could call it a change-of-pace-type player.

"Certainly McLaughlin is one of those candidates, where he's a different style runner."
 
For my last pick at 5.11, I found myself turning here over a guy that I had at the end of round 2 on my draft board. I'm going against the grain here, but I found myself taking McLaughlin ahead of Zach Evans. Waldman was on to him, describing him on a spring podcast as having the skill set that people think they're getting from Gibbs. Lammey has compared him to a Phillip Lindsay that can catch.

Kind of hoping for a splash play early in the season that puts him on the radar of some leaguemates.
 
So, what are we looking at at this point? Obviously nothing more than a flyer/lottery ticket, but how intriguing is he? How far should he be creeping up the rookie RB list for dynasty purposes?
 
eighsse2 said:
So, what are we looking at at this point? Obviously nothing more than a flyer/lottery ticket, but how intriguing is he? How far should he be creeping up the rookie RB list for dynasty purposes?
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I'm carrying him on both of my dynasty taxi squads this year. Feels like the perfect sort of boom/bust guy to place there and promote midseason or move off next offseason if he looks like a boat anchor.

With Javonte back earlier than expected and a still solid Perine keeping him clearly at #3 this year, the hope is probably to see him get some snaps returning kicks or sprinkles in here and there to maintain some of the momentum he gained in the preseason. If he keeps that up, I'm buying him as an end of bench stash RB going into next season, but doubt he gets enough opportunity to do more than show flashes in 2023.
 
Jayded said:
eighsse2 said:
So, what are we looking at at this point? Obviously nothing more than a flyer/lottery ticket, but how intriguing is he? How far should he be creeping up the rookie RB list for dynasty purposes?
Click to expand...
I'm carrying him on both of my dynasty taxi squads this year. Feels like the perfect sort of boom/bust guy to place there and promote midseason or move off next offseason if he looks like a boat anchor.

With Javonte back earlier than expected and a still solid Perine keeping him clearly at #3 this year, the hope is probably to see him get some snaps returning kicks or sprinkles in here and there to maintain some of the momentum he gained in the preseason. If he keeps that up, I'm buying him as an end of bench stash RB going into next season, but doubt he gets enough opportunity to do more than show flashes in 2023.
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We have no taxi squad so I don't know if I could find a way to squeeze him in, or if it would even be worth it at this point. Probably not worth the roster spot. Currently I have one too many offensive players and no DST, so I'm trying to make a trade (either a consolidating trade or a player for a 2024 pick(s)). Abanikanda would be the one to get cut if I can't make a trade. I'm sure McLaughlin is still below Abanikanda in overall dynasty value.
 
eighsse2 said:
So, what are we looking at at this point? Obviously nothing more than a flyer/lottery ticket, but how intriguing is he? How far should he be creeping up the rookie RB list for dynasty purposes?
Click to expand...
IMO the biggest short-term impact will likely be eating slightly (3-5 per game) into the Williams/Perine combined touches.

However, it's entirely possible that McLaughlin's complementary skillset may elevate the entire offense, and therefore actually make both JW/SP more productive per touch (or more overall offensive touches).

And even though J.Will/Perine both have good hands, McLaughlin has demonstrated good pass-pro abilities for a rookie (see OC Lombardi comments below) and therefore with his speed and elusiveness may become a favored option on certain 3rd down situations.

McLaughlin has demonstrated an ability to run between the tackles (see highlights in OP including multiple GL TD's) and so not just a scat-back. Will potentially get 2-3 of "ordinary" change-of-pace, non-GL touches as well. Just a WAG.

If (god forbid) either J.Will or Perine were to go down, IMO we would likely see a 70/30 split between the uninjured 1A/1B guy and McLaughlin. Another WAG. But behind the top 3 RB there are only marginal practice squad JAGs (e.g. Tyler Badie).

“I think the big challenge for a rookie is protection,” Lombardi said this week. “Knowing the protections and knowing who he is responsible for. I would say he has done a really good job for a rookie at that and just continuing to develop there. When you see a guy performing like he has at practice, you are always curious to see how it translates to a game. So far, that has been good marks for him.”
 
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Wonder when this guy will start to show up on FBGs dynasty radar. Cecil is predicting (if I heard correctly) 20% of the snaps out of the gate. Dude has been the talk of camp and backed it up in preseason games. Yet he’s not even listed in the top 80 rbs.
 
must be something with my league settings cause in one league 80 is where the list stops. Switched to another league and he’s around 85.
 
Weebs210 said:
I'm almost in on my dynasty team. Just need this guy to accept my trade so I can open up a spot...
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Just curious, what are you offering?
I threw him on my TS (prompted Iosivas) because I don’t see dropping him but also don’t see him making a difference this year. I have a good team with plenty of quality depth, but If a team isn’t that deep I could definitely see starting him during bye weeks.
 
-OZ- said:
Weebs210 said:
I'm almost in on my dynasty team. Just need this guy to accept my trade so I can open up a spot...
Click to expand...
Just curious, what are you offering?
I threw him on my TS (prompted Iosivas) because I don’t see dropping him but also don’t see him making a difference this year. I have a good team with plenty of quality depth, but If a team isn’t that deep I could definitely see starting him during bye weeks.
Click to expand...
Sorry I wasn't clear. I'm trying to trade a 2 for 1 for JT which will allow me to pick up Jaleel.
 
32BeatWriters
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"With McLaughlin, it’s versatility. With breakaway speed in the open field — displayed during a 44-yard kickoff return against the San Francisco 49ers — it’s easy to view him as an off-tackle threat, someone the Broncos will leverage in space depending on matchups. But some of McLaughlin’s most impressive work during a three-game exhibition stint in which he rushed for 5.4 yards per carry and three touchdowns came on inside runs. His decisiveness, coupled with an ability to maintain speed while subtly changing directions, made him difficult to corral for preseason opponents when he burst through inside gaps."
Click to expand...
 
Having flashbacks to Boston Scott, balled out in preseason his rookie year for NO and was a hot add. Made the 53, but promptly cut shortly after and then signed to the practice squad until the Eagles grabbed him.
 
Buckna said:
Having flashbacks to Boston Scott, balled out in preseason his rookie year for NO and was a hot add. Made the 53, but promptly cut shortly after and then signed to the practice squad until the Eagles grabbed him.
Click to expand...
I'm having similar concerns when it comes to pre-season dynamos. Even if he's all that, he's got to jump Javonte and Perine in the pecking order - no easy task outside of injury. I see him as a good very late round stash, but may be among the first to be roster purged if he doesn't make much noise in the first handful of weeks.
 
I was hoping to find a way to squeeze this guy onto my dynasty roster. Then I realized he's 24.5 years old. I know, I know, you generally look at 3 year windows for a RB anyway, further than that is too hard to predict, and all that. But the thing is, there is just such a narrow spectrum of the future tree of possibilities where he becomes a jackpot and produces solidly for several years, when he's starting out that old.

Be aware of false birthdates on keeptrade cut.
That is all.
 
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Buckna said:
Having flashbacks to Boston Scott, balled out in preseason his rookie year for NO and was a hot add. Made the 53, but promptly cut shortly after and then signed to the practice squad until the Eagles grabbed him.
Click to expand...
Boston Scott had 1800 total rushing yards and 14 TD's in his 5-year NCAA career.

Jaleel McLaughlin had 8,200 yards and 79 TD's in his NCAA career
 
eighsse2 said:
I was hoping to find a way to squeeze this guy onto my dynasty roster. Then I realized he's 24.5 years old. I know, I know, you generally look at 3 year windows for a RB anyway, further than that is too hard to predict, and all that. But the thing is, there is just such a narrow spectrum of the future tree of possibilities where he becomes a jackpot and produces solidly for several years, when he's starting out that old.
Click to expand...
He is in fact 22 years old. I'm in with a big bench in dynasty
 
Weebs210 said:
eighsse2 said:
I was hoping to find a way to squeeze this guy onto my dynasty roster. Then I realized he's 24.5 years old. I know, I know, you generally look at 3 year windows for a RB anyway, further than that is too hard to predict, and all that. But the thing is, there is just such a narrow spectrum of the future tree of possibilities where he becomes a jackpot and produces solidly for several years, when he's starting out that old.
Click to expand...
He is in fact 22 years old. I'm in with a big bench in dynasty
Click to expand...
Wow, my bad guys, keeptradecut lists him at 02/19/99. Bizarre.
 
Stoneworker said:
Buckna said:
Having flashbacks to Boston Scott, balled out in preseason his rookie year for NO and was a hot add. Made the 53, but promptly cut shortly after and then signed to the practice squad until the Eagles grabbed him.
Click to expand...
Boston Scott had 1800 total rushing yards and 14 TD's in his 5-year NCAA career.

Jaleel McLaughlin had 8,200 yards and 79 TD's in his NCAA career
Click to expand...

Both are smallish 5’6”~5’7” waterbug types that are/were called the next Sproles and were undrafted. McLaughlin has a much easier road to relevance given its just JW & Perine in front of him. Scott was buried behind an in his prime Kamara. Luckily the Eagles freed him and gave him a chance to play even if it didn’t amount to fantasy stardom, he did have a lot of positive plays for the Eagles.
 
eighsse2 said:
Weebs210 said:
eighsse2 said:
I was hoping to find a way to squeeze this guy onto my dynasty roster. Then I realized he's 24.5 years old. I know, I know, you generally look at 3 year windows for a RB anyway, further than that is too hard to predict, and all that. But the thing is, there is just such a narrow spectrum of the future tree of possibilities where he becomes a jackpot and produces solidly for several years, when he's starting out that old.
Click to expand...
He is in fact 22 years old. I'm in with a big bench in dynasty
Click to expand...
Wow, my bad guys, keeptradecut lists him at 02/19/99. Bizarre.
Click to expand...
It looks like he's turning 23 years old this month.

www.espn.com

Jaleel McLaughlin Biography - ESPN

View the biography of Denver Broncos Running Back Jaleel McLaughlin on ESPN. Includes career history and teams played for.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 
Buckna said:
Stoneworker said:
Buckna said:
Having flashbacks to Boston Scott, balled out in preseason his rookie year for NO and was a hot add. Made the 53, but promptly cut shortly after and then signed to the practice squad until the Eagles grabbed him.
Click to expand...
Boston Scott had 1800 total rushing yards and 14 TD's in his 5-year NCAA career.

Jaleel McLaughlin had 8,200 yards and 79 TD's in his NCAA career
Click to expand...

Both are smallish 5’6”~5’7” waterbug types that are/were called the next Sproles and were undrafted. McLaughlin has a much easier road to relevance given its just JW & Perine in front of him. Scott was buried behind an in his prime Kamara. Luckily the Eagles freed him and gave him a chance to play even if it didn’t amount to fantasy stardom, he did have a lot of positive plays for the Eagles.
Click to expand...
If I recall correctly, Boston Scott was about ten pounds heavier (and thicker) than McLaughlin.
 
eighsse2 said:
So, what are we looking at at this point? Obviously nothing more than a flyer/lottery ticket, but how intriguing is he? How far should he be creeping up the rookie RB list for dynasty purposes?
Click to expand...

Had multiple people bid small (<10%) of FAAB on our first waiver run this morning, so seems like a player that if you have a taxi squad or room to stash, then it might not be an awful play. Personally the first I heard of him was this morning lol so I have no idea on the player himself
 
Weebs210 said:
I'm almost in on my dynasty team. Just need this guy to accept my trade so I can open up a spot...
Click to expand...
I've been purposely laying low on discussion about him because I'm in leagues with people on these boards and had in fact been busy trying to do the same thing you have been trying to do, which is make a trade to free up a spot to bid on him. I failed where those attempts were made but still got him a ton.

One Broncos beat writer is saying his role in the offense is the Sproles role. Another is saying he's the Pierre Thomas of this version of Payton's offense.Either way, for the cost, sign me up.
 
I mean 8,166 yards on 1,250 attempts with 79 touchdowns, averaging 6.5 yards per carry in college is absolutely insane
 
Bozeman Bruiser said:
James Robinson 2.0?

Never heard of him before this thread, he has quite the "overcoming adversity" background, would love to see him get an opportunity on the field.
Click to expand...

Only if they decide for whatever reason to not give any work to their newly signed rb and their other pretty good rb who’s been recovering well and feature him.

He’s gonna need injuries for any James robinson type ascension.
 
Bozeman Bruiser said:
James Robinson 2.0?

Never heard of him before this thread, he has quite the "overcoming adversity" background, would love to see him get an opportunity on the field.
Click to expand...
Personally I've had a similar vibe but has more to do with as it all related to my timing. I uncovered Robinson about 7-8 days before he got on the radar and spent those 7-8 days drafting him literally in every league. After about 7-8 days of getting him unimpeded I started to lose out in drafts and on the waiver runs. That timing for when I got on Robinson and had an almost free run on him was about the same exact same point of training camp as when I started a period of free runs on Jaleel and it ended about the same exact time.

So again for me personally it brought back a lot of memories of that.


Loipz said:
Only if they decide for whatever reason to not give any work to their newly signed rb and their other pretty good rb who’s been recovering well and feature him.

He’s gonna need injuries for any James robinson type ascension.
Click to expand...
I would not bet against this take but I think there is a chance, not exactly of Robinson rookie year numbers but someone with a chance of being more of a use for fantasy without needing an injury then the perception that's what he needs.

It was Benjamin Allbright who said his role in this offense was like Sproles.

Sproles 3 year run with the Saints he was #3 in carries on the team two years and #4 another year. He averaged 4.27 carries a game during those 3 years. But he also averaged 5.27 receptions a game and that enabled him to basically post what would be low end RB1 numbers today, right about 15 fantasy points a game. Well that and a lot of TD's.

Last season Wilson went from generally on the lower end of the league in targets to RB's into the top 10, was 7th IIRC. I expect that to increase more this year.

So let's just say for a second that Allbright is right and that's the role he plays. He's probably not nearly as advanced as Sproles was in the receiving game at that point in his career(remember Sproles was in seasons 6-8 for his Saints run) , simply may not now or ever be as good as Sproles, and while I think Wilsons pass attempts to RB's increase it probably won't reach Brees levels. So a lot has to go right, and smart money says it won't, but when this exact offensive scheme has shown us the blueprint for how to be a big time fantasy RB even if you are the third RB in the rotation I won't say it's impossible.
 
menobrown said:
Bozeman Bruiser said:
James Robinson 2.0?

Never heard of him before this thread, he has quite the "overcoming adversity" background, would love to see him get an opportunity on the field.
Click to expand...
Personally I've had a similar vibe but has more to do with as it all related to my timing. I uncovered Robinson about 7-8 days before he got on the radar and spent those 7-8 days drafting him literally in every league. After about 7-8 days of getting him unimpeded I started to lose out in drafts and on the waiver runs. That timing for when I got on Robinson and had an almost free run on him was about the same exact same point of training camp as when I started a period of free runs on Jaleel and it ended about the same exact time.

So again for me personally it brought back a lot of memories of that.


Loipz said:
Only if they decide for whatever reason to not give any work to their newly signed rb and their other pretty good rb who’s been recovering well and feature him.

He’s gonna need injuries for any James robinson type ascension.
Click to expand...
I would not bet against this take but I think there is a chance, not exactly of Robinson rookie year numbers but someone with a chance of being more of a use for fantasy without needing an injury then the perception that's what he needs.

It was Benjamin Allbright who said his role in this offense was like Sproles.

Sproles 3 year run with the Saints he was #3 in carries on the team two years and #4 another year. He averaged 4.27 carries a game during those 3 years. But he also averaged 5.27 receptions a game and that enabled him to basically post what would be low end RB1 numbers today, right about 15 fantasy points a game. Well that and a lot of TD's.

Last season Wilson went from generally on the lower end of the league in targets to RB's into the top 10, was 7th IIRC. I expect that to increase more this year.

So let's just say for a second that Allbright is right and that's the role he plays. He's probably not nearly as advanced as Sproles was in the receiving game at that point in his career(remember Sproles was in seasons 6-8 for his Saints run) , simply may not now or ever be as good as Sproles, and while I think Wilsons pass attempts to RB's increase it probably won't reach Brees levels. So a lot has to go right, and smart money says it won't, but when this exact offensive scheme has shown us the blueprint for how to be a big time fantasy RB even if you are the third RB in the rotation I won't say it's impossible.
Click to expand...
The bolded is so key here. I am tempering my expectations for this guy, but if you have the room on your DTS for a flier I've seen worse lotto tickets.
 
[Personal] I just heard from a friend whose son was a high school teammate of Jaleel. In addition to being unfairly treated by his coach, the young man and his mother lived out of a car for a while. No one knew and his joyful attitude never waned. He simply refused to be vanquished. Respect and even more of a fan than I was before.
 
Phantom Knight said:
[Personal] I just heard from a friend whose son was a high school teammate of Jaleel. In addition to being unfairly treated by his coach, the young man and his mother lived out of a car for a while. No one knew and his joyful attitude never waned. He simply refused to be vanquished. Respect and even more of a fan than I was before.
Click to expand...
Yea that story, the fact that he comes into the building at 5:30am every morning before everyone else, and the 8100 yards rushing in college. Definitely seems like a great player and someone great to have on your team in real life
 
Phantom Knight said:
[Personal] I just heard from a friend whose son was a high school teammate of Jaleel. In addition to being unfairly treated by his coach, the young man and his mother lived out of a car for a while. No one knew and his joyful attitude never waned. He simply refused to be vanquished. Respect and even more of a fan than I was before.
Click to expand...
Glad he's a Bronco
 
Dang it. Leaguemate just picked him up. Would have loved to make a trade to make room, but it wasn't in the cards.
 
DenverSports.com’s Andrew Mase reports Broncos RB Jaleel McLaughlin “is going to get significant carries” in Week 1.

The Broncos are expected to use a three-back rotation of McLaughlin, Javontae Williams, and Samaje Perine. There are rumors the Broncos could ease Williams back, leaving Perine and/or McLaughlin in the mix for carries. McLaughlin is the hot hand for Denver after leading the NFL in preseason scoring and with Williams in his first game back, could see more Week 1 touches than expected.
Click to expand...
 
Along with all the many things to like about the kid, it's pretty funny Denver misspelled his name on his jersey in the first pre-season game.

Javonte is one of my favorite players ever. Amazing talent and a special kid.
All due respect to Perine, but Javonte and Jaleel would make a really fun thunder & lightning combo that you want to root for.
 
Part of me wants to start him this week, particularly with Javonte getting back up to speed.

You watch how the kid plays, how Payton talks about him, and how his teammates respond to him, it's really hard to imagine Payton not putting the ball in his hands regularly in high value situations.

10 touches (including 4-5 receptions) and a TD seems very much in play. With upside for more if he gets rolling.
 
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