McGahee: Underrated This Year??

[mm92280]

Just wanted to get some general thoughts on your expectations for McGahee this year. I know some people are down on him due to a combination of age (31 next month), change in offensive philosophy (from run-oriented to pass-oriented) and the possibility of being eclipsed by a younger talent. Assuming he stays healthy, I don't know that he's going to have a big dropoff this year. I tend to avoid running backs that are 30 or older but McGahee showed good burst and ability on the field last year and still seemed to have life in his legs. Even more importantly, the Broncos basically did nothing to improve their RB situation and basically return the same guys. Moreno is coming off an ACL reconstruction and has been a failure as a 1st and 2nd down back. He'll be the 3rd down back but I don't expect much more from him. Lance Ball is there to provide depth and give McGahee a breather. He doesn't have the talent to be a feature back. Ronnie Hillman is 4th on the depth chart and was inactive for the 1st game. He'd need to make some improvements to suddenly be in the mix for carries.

As for the change in philosophy, yes, they are certainly going to a pass-oriented philosophy with Peyton in Denver, as they should be. However, I don't think that makes McGahee irrelevent as it wasn't like he logged 300+ carries last year. He had 249 carries, 12 receptions and 5 total touchdowns. That is okay usage for the guy and I think it would be reasonable that he could get 250 carries again, as they have to have some level of balance between the pass and the run (even if it is skewed towards the pass). While I don't know that his overall number of carries will truly go up, I think he actually could score 2 or 3 more touchdowns. He only had 5 touchdowns last year (4 running and 1 receiving), partly because Tim Tebow vultured 6 touchdowns on the ground last year. Obviously, that won't happen this year with Peyton under center. The Broncos should also be in the red zone more often this year, so his touchdowns could go up slightly due to sheer opportunities (again, even if their red zone plays are skewed towards the pass).

So, what do you think of McGahee this year? I typically avoid recommending a running back that is 30 or older but McGahee did show some life in his legs last year and doesn't have just ridiculous levels of wear on his body (1,800 career carries and looked good last year - coming off 2 seasons as a part-time with the Ravens). He doesn't really have much in the way of competition for snaps. Should he be a pretty competent RB3 (assuming he stays healthy)?

[Footballfev]

He's old as shit not not the most talented rb, but he's on a team being orchastrated by Peyton Manning and the workhorse of that team. Peyton will distract defenses which will open running lanes for him. Manning's ability to call audibles and read defenses will benefit McGahee's production. I think he's a good flex play and a low/mid 2nd rb.

He will be a Top 15-18 rb at the end of the season.


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