ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Melvin Gordon was not on the practice field as the Broncos concluded their three-day voluntary-veteran minicamp Wednesday. But he was very much in the conversation one day after agreeing to terms on a contract that will being him back to Denver on an incentive-laden contract for a third season with the Broncos and eighth in the NFL.
The first question is this: Do the Broncos now have a similar arrangement to the one they had last year, when Gordon and Williams split the responsibilities on a near 50-50 basis?
“He’s just going to be another opportunity for us to get another guy back there in the outside zone, third-down situations, just having that 1-2 punch,” offensive coordinator Justin Outten said.
That said, Outten didn’t specify whether Williams or Gordon would be the first part of that “1-2 punch.”
“I’m not saying that,” he said. “I’m just saying guys that are going to be on the field that can change up the game with their pace, with fresh legs. It’s not necessarily a 1 and a 2 right now.”
Outten did name other running backs in the room, specifically Mike Boone and Damarea Crockett. But Gordon’s one-year deal — which includes incentives that could push his salary into the $5 million range if they are met — does appear to be that of a running back who will be used — if not as the starter as he was last year, then frequently in tandem with Williams.
Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett has operated offenses with both a bell-cow back and a platoon. In Jacksonville during the 2017 season, Hackett rode Leonard Fournette to the AFC Championship Game. In the 21 games for which Hackett called plays with Fournette in the lineup, 13 of them saw Fournette account for at least two-thirds of the touches from the running-back position — a 61.9-percent clip.
But in the 50 other games for which Hackett called plays with the Jaguars and Buffalo Bills, just 18 percent — or nine of 50 — saw a single player get at least two-thirds of the running-back touches.
“I think that with any running back, you always want to have as many as you can,” Hackett said at the NFL Annual Meeting in Palm Beach, Fla. on March 28. “You want a big stable.”
One advantage of such a stable is in having options. If one running back has a hot hand, you keep feeding him the football. If one is struggling early, perhaps a change can yield better results.
“It’s kind of almost a feel-of-the-game (thing),” Outten said. “It’s kind of a similar situation we had in Green Bay with a speedier guy and then a downhill guy and you just want to utilize those guys.”
But more often, it’s about keeping the running backs fresh so their effectiveness can be maximized over the course of the game and the season — as was the case last year for the Broncos.
“It’s a long season. You don’t want to bang ‘em up,” Outten said. “You want to be smart with them and just use their strengths and put them out on the field and make them work.”
DON’T EXPECT THE “PUNT GOD” TO BE IN ORANGE AND BLUE …
… at least, not unless special-teams coordinator Dwayne Stukes is pulling a misdirection play.
At the end of his question-and-answer session with media Wednesday, Stukes was asked about prodigious San Diego State punter Matt Araiza, who is widely expected to not only be the first punter taken in the draft, but a potential late-Day 2 pick, which would make him the highest punter drafted in 10 years, since the Jaguars made Bryan Anger a third-round pick in 2012.
Stukes said that in the Broncos’ special-teams scheme, the punting focus is on placement, not distance, echoing sentiments shared by former special-teams coordinator Tom McMahon during a frustrating four-year stint that ended with his dismissal following the 2021 season.
“Our system is a little bit different. In our system, we’re not just looking for a guy to bang the ball 50 yards, 60 yards deep,” Stukes said. “That’s not what we’re doing, because when you put or kick the ball in the middle of the field, you give your opponent more ability to score, whether it’s a kickoff return or punt return, right?
“We have certain rules in our system, where we would prefer to place the ball somewhere different. Again, that will show on film once we get to the preseason, etc. I don’t want to give away all of our secrets.
“But, yes, to answer your question, I’ve watched [Araiza]. I mean, we have specialists here that can do the same thing, though.”
Former special-teams coordinator Tom McMahon often spoke of an emphasis on directional punting, to mixed results. He utilized Marquette King, Colby Wadman and incumbent punter Sam Martin over his four seasons on the job; Martin was by far the most consistent of that trio, and the most effective at directional punting, particularly to the right side.
Special teams will undoubtedly be a draft-weekend priority for the Broncos, but if Stukes is to be taken at his word, it looks like the Broncos will pass on the prodigious blaster.
