Broncos RB Jaleel McLaughlin on mission in Year 2: 'It's just the way he's wired' (2024)

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton had cataract surgery on both eyes this month, procedures he vowed he’d get after making, in his own words, the “embarrassing” mistake of plucking the wrong call from his play sheet during a game last season.

Payton didn’t need enhanced vision, though, to make out the shadowy figure in the distance during the offseason, running the hills by himself at the team’s practice facility, racing the sunrise. Payton could set his watch to Jaleel McLaughlin’s workout before the workout.

“He’s here at 5:15, even in the offseason, first one here running (and) in the weight room,” Payton said of the second-year running back. “By the time he’s at breakfast and most people are arriving, he’s put in a good hour-and-a-half’s worth of work. It’s just the way he’s wired, and it’s impressive.”

The routine is nothing new for McLaughlin. His coaches in college would catch glimpses of McLaughlin from their stadium offices late at night, running up stairs or sprinting on the field in solitude. Since he was a kid growing up in North Carolina, McLaughlin said he “couldn’t see myself being happy” without becoming a professional athlete. For someone not destined to grow past 5 feet 8, he realized the prerequisite for reaching his dream would be an uncommon approach to chasing it. It’s a process that continued through his rookie year in Denver when he made the roster as an undrafted free agent and carved a role as a playmaking spark.

Still, even by the considerable standard he has set, McLaughlin’s offseason program turned heads among coaches, teammates and onlookers at practice. It would not be a stretch to say he was the Broncos’ most dynamic offensive player during OTAs and minicamp. The important caveat for the running back position being what it is — it’s hard to make a full evaluation of a contact-heavy position in a non-contact setting — McLaughlin still managed to stand out, operating at a higher gear than he did during a rookie offseason in which he forced himself onto the roster.

“Whatever you ask him to do, he’s going to work at it,” Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said. “Obviously, we’re not in pads so you can’t see everything, but just as far as his intention and assignment on pass protection, he has been outstanding. I don’t know if there’s anyone who works harder than him.”

McLaughlin totaled 570 yards while playing in all 17 games during his rookie season. He reached the end zone four times, the first of which came during a Week 4 win against the Chicago Bears in which he replaced an injured Javonte Williams and gained 104 total yards to help the Broncos earn their first victory of the season. It was an impressive start for any undrafted ball carrier, much less one who began his college career at the Division II level.

He's shifty. 💨#DENvsCHI | 📺: CBS or @ParamountPlus pic.twitter.com/EYmbvX0Y2W

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) October 1, 2023

But when McLaughlin plunged into the tape after the season, it wasn’t the big plays he made that sat with him.

“Me watching the film, it was, ‘Hey, look, I didn’t do half the stuff that I was supposed to do out there,” McLaughlin told reporters during a charity event at Coors Field earlier this month. “There were things I left out there on the football field, and that’s what makes me hungry. Knowing that I’m playing at the highest level possible, leaving a lot out there on the field and knowing I’m not going to do that this year.”

As sure as Payton knows McLaughlin will be running alone on the field before practice, he also knows the 23-year-old will eventually walk into the coach’s office, armed with questions. McLaughlin averaged 5.39 yards per carry last season. Among running backs who carried the ball at least 75 times, only Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers (5.4) and De’Von Achane of the Miami Dolphins (7.8) had a higher average. McLaughlin won’t have the same workload as McCaffrey this season, but he should carry the ball more than the 76 times he did last season — and more rushing production should follow. But where McLaughlin knows he needs to make a bigger leap is in the passing game. He had 31 receptions last season but averaged only 4.4 yards per target. He believes he can be more than a late-play checkdown target in Year 2. He knows that means continuing to grow in pass protection when the pads come on in training camp. But it also means being even more precise in everything from how he releases from the line of scrimmage to how he shows his hands as a target.

“I know he wants to continue to work on his role in the passing game,” Payton said. “He’ll come up and wear me out asking for (video) cut-ups and looking at certain routes.”

The Broncos believe building a more productive offense begins with being more efficient in the red zone and on third downs. Take fewer sacks, avoid negative plays and stay patient. But Payton also knows teams can’t count on a heavy diet of 13-play drives. The Broncos need to be more dynamic. Their explosive-play rate of 10 percent last season — a measure of rush plays of 12 or more yards and pass plays of 16 or more yards — ranked 20th in the NFL, according to TruMedia.

McLaughlin represents a potential path to more big-hit plays.

“His speed, his acceleration, his explosiveness has all been impressive this spring,” Lombardi said.

Ideally, McLaughlin’s contributions will come as part of a well-rounded backfield that includes a pair of veterans, Williams and Samaje Perine, and two rookies, fifth-round pick Audric Estimé and undrafted free agent Blake Watson. But the offseason program reinforced that McLaughlin brings something unique to the table. You didn’t need surgically enhanced vision to see it.

(Photo: Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)

Nick Kosmider is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Denver Broncos. He previously covered the Denver Nuggets for The Athletic after spending five years at the Denver Post, where he covered the city’s professional sports scene. His other stops include The Arizona Republic and MLB.com. Follow Nick on Twitter @NickKosmider