Odd Offseason Investment Paying off for Broncos RB

Getty Denver Broncos running back Jaleel McLaughlin.

Every NFL team has JUGS machines — the same concept as a pitching machine for baseball, but with footballs instead. The machines are big and bulky and expensive. And also really useful.

That being said, not many NFL players decide to bring one home with them.

The Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel found one of the NFL’s newest owners of a JUGS machine in Denver Broncos running back Jaleel McLaughlin, who dropped almost $5,000 of his own money to have one for personal use.

“Jaleel McLaughlin spent $4,750 on a JUGS machine this offseason so he could catch 250 balls a day in his garage, local parks or anywhere else in pursuit of transforming into a better receiver,” Gabriel wrote.

McLaughlin showed flashes as a rookie in 2023 after making the Broncos as an undrafted free agent out of Youngstown State, rushing for 410 yards and 1 touchdown while averaging 5.4 yards per carry. He also had 31 receptions for 160 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns — probably a big reason the JUGS machine came into play.

McLaughlin left college with the NCAA career rushing record with 8,166 rushing yards at NCAA Division II Notre Dame College and FCS Youngstown State.

Broncos Backfield Truly An Open Competition

One thing the 5-foot-7, 189-pound McLaughlin has working for him (outside of his work ethic) is that the Broncos’ backfield is truly an open competition.

At quarterback, veteran Jarrett Stidham and 2024 first-round pick Bo Nix are battling for the QB1 spot. At running back, Javonte Williams led the Broncos with 774 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns but averaged an anemic 3.6 yards per carry.

McLaughlin averaged 5.4 yards per carry. The Broncos haven’t had a running back rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season since Phillip Lindsay in 2019.

“Unfortunately, Denver also struggled to field a consistent ground game in 2023,” Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox wrote on June 25. “Javonte Williams, coming off a torn ACL, only showed glimpses of his pre-injury form. While Jaleel McLaughlin emerged as an explosive role player (5.4 yards per carry), the Broncos ranked 21st in yards per carry as a team.”

McLaughlin Has Fantasy Football Owners’ Attention

Though it’s not a reliable predictor of actual success, McLaughlin is being talked about as a hot commodity ahead of the fantasy football season — he was one of the “upside” picks listed on Fantasy Pros on Aug. 4.

From Fantasy Pros: “Denver’s backfield is a wide-open competition. However, McLaughlin is the only Broncos running back I’m drafting. He impressed as a rookie, averaging 11.8 fantasy points per game and 6.9 yards per rushing attempt in the four contests with at least seven attempts. Furthermore, McLaughlin had the 12th-best explosive run rate among running backs with at least 75 rushing attempts in 2023 (per Fantasy Points Data). Don’t be surprised if Sean Payton views him as his next Alvin Kamara and gives McLaughlin a significant workload, especially in the passing game.”

One thing that might get in the way of McLaughlin’s ascent is the addition of Notre Dame running back Audric Estime, a fifth-round pick in the 2024 draft who, at 5-foot-11 and 233 pounds, might be closer to Kamara than McLaughlin.