Getty Ezekiel Elliott would be a one-year investment Predominantly Orange's Sayre Bedinger would love to see
The Denver Broncos taking a short-term flier on long-time Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, who remains a free agent, is something Predominantly Orange’s Sayre Bedinger would love to see.
“(Elliott’s) still taking on a very heavy workload, but perhaps a change of scenery and the committee approach Sean Payton wants to see come to life in Denver will be good for Zeke,” Bedinger wrote.
One question surrounding Elliott is how much the former No. 4 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft has left in the tank. Elliott is just 28 years old but over his seven-year NFL career, he’s tallied 1,881 carries in 103 regular-season games. His rushing attempts (231), yards (876) and yards-per-attempt (3.8) in 2022 were all career lows.
The one aspect of Elliott’s game which appears to remain unscathed is his knack for finding the end zone, as he totaled 12 rushing touchdowns last season, tied for the second most in his NFL career.
While Bedinger did cite Elliott’s workload over his career, he pointed to how the long-time Cowboys star could potentially round out the Broncos’ running back room.
“He might even be able to rehab his overall value by playing in this offense. Although he’s taken on a ton of work in his NFL career, Elliott is shockingly only going to be 28 this coming season. This is a one-year investment I would love to see the Broncos try to make, giving themselves a running back room of Javonte Williams, Samaje Perine, Ezekiel Elliott, and a rookie to give teams fits and dominate on the ground all season.”
Samaje Perine Is ‘Capable 3-Down Back’ for Broncos
Bedinger believes Samaje Perine, who signed with the Broncos on March 16 following three seasons in Cincinnati, could be a “capable three-down back” for Denver during the 2023 season in the event Javonte Williams is incapable of suiting up.
The NFL draft could help provide an answer to that question in the Broncos backfield, but as Bedinger points out, Denver’s highest draft pick is in the third round at the No. 67 overall selection.
As for Perine, the 27-year-old spent the past three seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, seeing action in 54 games. Over that stretch, Perine tallied 213 carries for 941 yards (4.4 yards per attempt) with six rushing touchdowns, while catching 76 passes for 549 yards and five touchdowns. Following stints with the Washington Commanders (previously Redskins) for two seasons and one year with the Miami Dolphins, his three-year tenure with the Bengals was by far his most productive, marking career bests in yardage, touchdowns and yards-per-attempt.
3rd-Round Draft Pick Could Play ‘Substantial Role’ in 2023
In recent years, multiple rookie running backs drafted in the middle rounds (between the third and fifth) have seen meaningful playing time, which means the Broncos could find good value in the third round of the NFL draft with both the No. 67 and No. 68 picks. Bedinger feels as though Denver is capable of finding a running back who could shoulder a “substantial role” during the 2023 season.
Names like Rachaad White (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Dameon Pierce (Houston Texans), and Tyler Allgeier (Atlanta Falcons) are among the most recent examples of mid-round running backs who had success during their rookie season. White (129 carries, 481 rushing yards), Pierce (220 carries, 939 yards), and Allgeier (210 carries, 1,035 yards) were all selected in either the third or fourth rounds of the 2022 NFL Draft.