Javonte Williams

The NFL has cracked down hard on two players who led with their helmet on hits in the wild card round of the playoffs.

The NFL has cracked down hard on two players who led with their helmet on hits in the wild card round of the playoffs.

Active for the first time since his scary Week 4 back injury, Badie was a distant third option behind Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin. The former Mizzou product flashed a little juice early in the season, but he's one month shy of his 26th birthday with 16 career regular season touches. With the Broncos casting about for something, anything in their ineffective backfield this season, Badie is unlikely to get a better chance in 2025. He can be left on Dynasty league waiver wires.

Although Williams was once again the nominal "lead back" in the Broncos' make-it-up-as-you-go-along backfield in Buffalo on Sunday, he heads into the offseason with a middling 69 touches over his final 10 games. That includes never once reaching 10 carries during that timespan. The owner of a wheezing 3.69 yards per tote, Williams' inefficiency was confirmed by NextGenStats, which charted him as the league's third worst back in terms of average rush yards over expected. An impending free agent who failed to earn Sean Payton's trust in either of the coach's first two years on the job, Williams seems highly unlikely to be back in Denver. Going on 25 following an entirely uninspiring rookie contract, one that featured a torn ACL, Williams could struggle to generate open-market interest after failing to gel with running back guru Payton.

So much for all that. The Broncos' most involved -- and productive -- back down the stretch, McLaughlin was once again mothballed for an ineffective Javonte Williams. Coach Sean Payton clearly saw something "in the matchup" he liked for Williams, but it was only in his mind. Williams turned his nine handles into a predictably pointless 43 yards. Although Williams is finally at the end of his unproductive rookie deal, McLaughlin has not shown enough to take command of this maddening backfield heading into 2025. Also going on 25, there's probably not much untapped potential left in McLaughlin's 5-foot-7 frame. The Broncos are a lock to make talent additions to this backfield, keeping McLaughlin locked into the uninspiring RB3/4 range in dynasty formats.