The Denver Broncos had a true 50-50 split in their backfield last season. Rookie Javonte Williams and veteran Melvin Gordon each carried the ball 203 times and both averaged roughly the same yards per carry. With Gordon heading into free agency this offseason, it seemed like Williams was going to ascend to become a true lead back for the Broncos in 2022 (and become a fantasy football darling in the process).
In a somewhat surprising move, however, Gordon re-signed with Denver, inking a one-year deal with the team in late April. Despite Gordon’s return, it doesn’t seem like there will be the same shared workload this coming season between the two backs.
“I think they have a plan on what they want heading in, but as far as the rotation goes, I really don’t know,” Gordon said Wednesday, via NFL.com. “I think they want ‘Vonte’ to be the guy, but we do rotate. He’ll take the first series and then the second series with the [No. 1 offense], I’ll take. Sometimes we switch, but you know kind of how it is.
“I don’t know how they will do the rotation. I have to go back and look at how they did things in Green Bay with the carries and things like that. My mom says just go out here and compete and go as hard as I can. I don’t know what the future holds other than that, but I just want to put my best foot forward so when I do so out there, they go, ‘OK, we need to get him out there more.’ I know I have the game; I know I can play and I still have the juice, but we’ll see.”
While Gordon’s return may muddy the waters for folks merely looking at this from a fantasy perspective, he does add great backfield depth to a Broncos team that is now looking to contend in the AFC after the acquisition of Russell Wilson this offseason.
Denver also hired Nathaniel Hackett to be its newest head coach after serving as the offensive coordinator in Green Bay from 2019 to 2021. Over the last few years under Hackett, the Packers backfield did show that he can utilize multiple backs with Jamaal Williams and, more recently, AJ Dillion enjoying success alongside star back Aaron Jones. With that in mind, there could be plenty of opportunity for both Williams and Gordon to have success, albeit with Williams serving as the main man in the backfield in a similar fashion to Jones.
Williams certainly showed last season that he can give Denver’s offense a higher ceiling when on the field. He was able to break 31 tackles last season and was a reliable option in the passing game, catching 81.1% of his targets.