Tyler Badie, for the first time in his NFL career, not only made a 53-man roster but had a real role on opening week.
The Broncos running back got the nod as Denver’s third man behind J.K. Dobbins and ahead of Jaleel McLaughlin for the first Sunday of the season.
The rationale from head coach Sean Payton: Clear.
“He’s a guy that can do a number of things well,” Payton said Friday. “We think he can run well. He’s good in the (blitz) pickups. He’s good in the passing game. You know exactly what you’re getting.”
Badie’s first outing of the fall wasn’t particularly pretty, though.
Badie played 14 offensive snaps and didn’t get a carry. He was targeted six times in the passing game and finished with two grabs for 16 yards, but also dropped a screen pass that might have gone for a touchdown.
Still, Payton said during camp, “I like coaching the player,” and was similarly enthusiastic Friday.
Pass protection is not McLaughlin’s strong suit, nor is it a strength of Denver’s group overall. Badie, however, is proficient, despite not being a big back.
The 2022 Ravens sixth-round pick out of Missouri showed some playmaking ability for Denver last year in limited duty before a back injury cost him 14 weeks. He first staked his claim to the 53-man roster this season partially on his pass protection abilities, then that skill set helped him crack the active gameday roster.
“It’s a tough decision because Jaleel is such a good player,” offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said Thursday after McLaughlin was inactive for the first time in his three-year career. “Most of it was just third down and protection, (Badie is) just a little stouter in there. It’s hard to not have Jaleel up there on gameday. It was mostly protection.”
The Broncos had a clearly defined set of roles for their trio in Week 1. Harvey and Dobbins split the regular-down work. Dobbins got the most snaps (53%) compared to Harvey’s 29%, and an outsized carry share, with 16 compared to Harvey’s 6.
That balance tilted heavily down the stretch. Harvey’s final two touches were the 50-yard lightning bolt at the 9-minute mark of the fourth quarter and then a 5-yard run on the next snap.
After that, Dobbins had the final seven running back carries of the game — the kind of closing-time, grind-it-out role fit for a reliable veteran.
“He had the big touchdown run there in the second half. Runs hard,” Lombardi said. “Really, we’ve got four guys we really like handing the ball to. J.K. and RJ are obviously the two guys being featured, and I thought they both really ran it well.”
Badie, in some ways, had the most clear-cut duty. Of his 14 offensive snaps, all but one came on either third down or in Denver’s two-minute work before the end of the half.
The lone exception: A clear passing situation at second-and-18.
Lombardi said that whether McLaughlin is up or inactive, “every week will be a conversation.” He mentioned specifically that McLaughlin had a terrific game (10 carries for 69 yards) last year against Cincinnati, a defense coordinated by Lou Anarumo, who is now Indianapolis’ defensive coordinator.
If Payton’s planning on mixing up the game day trio, however, he certainly didn’t sound like it Friday.
“This week is a significant week in the protections because of the amount of pressure looks we get,” Payton said Friday. “There was quite a bit of time spent on third downs. Not just third, but second down, they will give you some exotic looks that you really have to be ready for.
“(Badie) was someone coming on last year, even as a runner. There’s always a value when you know exactly what you’re getting from a player, and then you can implement him into those things he does well.”
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