RB Willis McGahee, Denver Broncos

HT: 6-0, WT: 228, Born: 10-20-1981, College: Miami, Drafted: Round 1, Pick 23

2013 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of May 21st. [Full ADP list]

Overall: M Goodson (136), Willis McGahee (137), B Pettigrew (139)
Position: S Greene (134-RB49), M Goodson (136-RB50), Willis McGahee (137 - RB51), D Woodhead (141-RB52), R Hillman (144-RB53)
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PPR Average draft position

Current as of May 21st. [Full PPR ADP list]

Overall: S Rice (121), Willis McGahee (122), I Pead (123),
Position: R Williams (113-RB44), A Bradshaw (118-RB45), Willis McGahee (122 - RB46), I Pead (123-RB47), K Moreno (127-RB48)
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Outlook

The future is unclear for veteran running back Willis McGahee. With the addition of Montee Ball in the 2013 NFL draft we could see the Broncos part ways with McGahee and/or Knowshon Moreno. McGahee was injured last year with a knee injury that cost him the final six games of the season and the playoff game against the Ravens. He also struggled with ball security and may have fallen out of favor with the coaching staff. If he makes the final roster then McGahee could split time with Ball as the team's primary big back, short yardage, and goal line specialist.

Latest News

Broncos | Ronnie Hillman will be counted on (Mon May 20, 06:57 PM) - Denver Broncos QB Peyton Manning said RB Ronnie Hillman will be counted on to have an increased role in the offense this year, and offensive coordinator Adam Gase is expected to utilize him more in the game plan. Manning has high expectations for Hillman this season.

Our View: Hillman received most of the first team reps today according to USA Today reporter Lindsay Jones. We'll see if he can impress in camp as the team is set to feature him more in 2013. Hillman should split time with Montee Ball in 2013.
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Broncos | Willis McGahee to skip OTAs (Mon May 20, 12:58 PM) - Denver Broncos RB Willis McGahee (leg, knee) will not take part in the team's organized team activities Monday, May 20, but it's the same approach he's had in the past for offseason workouts. 'He's following the same routine he's done his whole career. He'll be there,' agent Chafie Fields told said. 'He's ready to compete. No messages.' McGahee is coming off a torn medial collateral ligament in his knee and a broken leg.

Our View: McGahee is competing for a roster spot this year after the Broncos added potential starter Montee Ball in the second-round of the 2013 NFL draft. Some feel he could be released by the team as the Denver Post reported McGahee and Knowshon Moreno may be competing for one roster spot.
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2013 Schedule

2012 Game Summaries

Week 1 - When Denver drafted Ronnie Hillman, many thought it signaled that the end of McGahee as a feature back was imminent. However, Hillman was injured and unimpressive in camp – so much so that he was inactive for Sunday night’s game and Knowshon Moreno was the team’s backup. With that depth chart, McGahee has this backfield much more to himself than anyone expected. While he may have lost the burst that allows many backs to score from anywhere on the field, McGahee’s vision and agility in tight spaces still remain. His numbers may look pedestrian, but they came against a very tough defense on a night where Denver didn’t possess the ball for very long. This offense won’t be quite as pass-happy as the typical Manning offense was in his prime, so McGahee will get his chances. In fact, on the drive that resulted in Moreno’s touchdown, McGahee had three carries for 12 yards. He was removed for rest. Moreno isn’t likely to be taking many more goal-to-go opportunities from him.

Week 2 - It may seem like Willis McGahee has been running in the NFL for four decades now, but he looked like as good as any young superstar in the backfield for the Broncos against the Falcons. He was knocked down in the backfield at times early on, but from then he was given plenty of running lanes to take advantage of in the first half. And Boy, did he take advantage of them. McGahee's first big run came when he broke to the outside. He showed patience as he allowed his blockers to create a gap to the right-hand-side before bursting past Stephen Nicholas. McGahee gained 15 yards before Nicholas forced him out of bounds. That was a typical play for McGahee on the night. He was taking advantage of massive holes up the middle and to the right hand side of his offensive line. McGahee's touchdown run in the fourth quarter was all on him however. McGahee received the ball with around four yards between he and the endzone, he hit a pile of players almost instantly before powering the pile into the endzone for the touchdown. While the blocking was making it look very easy for the most part, McGahee's awareness and burst to repeatedly cut the defense apart is something that should be appreciated. Rarely did he make decisions that cost him yardage. McGahee was the Broncos' best, and most consistent weapon on the night. The Falcons may have played plenty of nickel defense, but that shouldn't be held against his performance.

Week 3 - It is safe to say, both the Houston defense and the score of the game dictated McGahee’s poor showing on Sunday. After opening the game with a long of 15 yards, McGahee never had a rush longer than four yards and ultimately was forced to leave the game in the 3rd quarter with a rib injury. There just weren’t many holes for McGahee and after falling into a 20-point deficit; the opportunities disappeared faster than the space in the holes to run through. Both Lance Ball and Ronnie Hillman received carries in his absence, but neither is an imminent threat assuming McGahee can get back on the field soon. The injury did not appear to be serious.

Week 4 - What rib injury? McGahee showed no signs of the injury in week three, which caused him to miss the majority of the 2nd half on Sunday. Running with power and even some wiggle, McGahee did what he wanted as he averaged nearly six yards a carry. Frustrated by the success of the short passing game, the lanes really started to open up midway through the 3rd quarter. After a blocked punt by Denver, McGahee and the Broncos took over at the Oakland 18. Four McGahee rushes later and Denver had their 2nd TD of the quarter, a two-yard run by Willis. McGahee’s best run would come on the following drive. Taking a hand-off from Manning out of the shotgun, McGahee burst through the middle, made a quick cut to the outside, avoiding one tackler and then another cut back inside before finally getting tackled 24 yards down the field. McGahee didn’t only contribute in the run game on Sunday, as he caught all six of his targets. Only amassing 23 yards, it is still worth noting as four of the six were clearly designed swing passes (not dump offs when Manning was pressured) for McGahee. McGahee again sat out the majority of the 4th quarter, but only because Denver clearly had the game at hand.

Week 5 - After playing well most of the game, unfortunately McGahee fumbled away any chances Denver had to make a comeback late in the fourth quarter. In addition, McGahee dropped a pass in the flat on a fourth down that stopped a potential scoring drive in the fourth quarter. For three quarters, McGahee was running through well-blocked lanes from spread formations and consistently gaining yards after initial contact. In the first half, McGahee was very much the sustaining element to the Broncos offense. He showed consistent patience between the tackles and lowered his head, finishing runs strong. No carry exemplified McGahee’s effort and after-contact drive more than his conversion on third-and-one in the first half. Denver was down 7-0 at the time and McGahee’s conversion sustained a drive that ultimately kept them in the game at that point. McGahee had two chances for potential touchdowns, both denied by the Patriots defense. He was stuffed on a carry from the 1-yard line and then stopped just short of the goal line on a big catch-and-run in the second half. McGahee received significant work even with Denver trailing most of the game, cementing his every week starter status for fantasy lineups going forward.

Week 6 - Most of the damage done by Denver was through the air while playing catch-up, so there wasn’t a lot of opportunity for long gains on the ground. The Chargers did a very good job of hitting McGahee behind or at the line of scrimmage and prevented him from breaking very many long runs despite his 17 carries. He did manage to perform well in the passing game, though almost all of his yardage came on one 31-yard dump-off up the left side. All told, it was a very underwhelming performance and his fantasy owners should be happy that he was able to approach 100 total yards on a night where there wasn’t much room to operate.

Week 8 - Despite being in the twilight of his career, Willis McGahee has achieved a level of consistency that has stretched over the past two seasons. Despite moving from a completely different system last year into this new Peyton Manning led offense, McGahee is still running hard and intelligently on almost every single snap. In this game McGahee was able to take advantage of a Saints' defense that was overstretched in the passing game and working with a shuffled linebacking corps(Vilma playing outside for first time in career). While he is a consistent runner from play to play, McGahee still had his positive and negative plays. A short touchdown run followed a long reception from Peyton Manning, before McGahee fumbled the football to start the next drive. Akiem Hicks managed to punch the ball free from McGahee just after he took the hand-off. McGahee was holding the ball tight to his body, but obviously not tight enough to ward off an excellent play from Hicks. It was the Broncos' 12th straight game losing a fumble.

Week 9 - McGahee has had a number of impactful games this season. This was not one of them. Cincinnati plugged up the interior running lanes most of the day and McGahee did not have much space for bigger gains outside the tackles. One of McGahee’s biggest plays, a third down swing pass for a first down, was called back by an Eric Decker offensive interference penalty. There was more room in the run game in the second half as Denver stuck with McGahee through the minimal early gains. His best run came late in the fourth quarter, a third-and-short conversion, essentially salting away the win. McGahee still has full control of the running back workload going forward and a good bet for a touchdown more weeks than not.

Week 10 - Willis McGahee was in many ways the engine of the Broncos’ offense in this game. He looked very quick on his feet and made some outstanding cuts in the open field, making tacklers miss on more than one occasion. McGahee was always available on swing passes in the flat and ran tough between the tackles. The blemish on McGahee’s day was his fumbles. In all, he fumbled the football twice. Both were excellent plays by Panther defenders, but McGahee must do a better job of being aware of what is around him. Although McGahee did not produce any big plays per se, his industry played an important role in the outcome and he may have scored if he had not been replaced by Ronnie Hillman late on.

Week 11 - It was a frustrating scene for McGahee owners to watch. He picked up 73 quick yards from scrimmage in the early going, averaging nearly eight yards per carry on the ground and looking very spry in doing so. He was barreling over defenders right up the gut and looked well on his way to a huge game. But a hit to the knee courtesy of a Charger defender knocked him from the contest prior to halftime, and he would not return. He was quoted after the game as saying he didn’t think it was a serious injury, but we will update you during the week as to his status. For what it’s worth, rookie Ronnie Hillman filled in for McGahee and was far less effective, picking up 43 yards on 12 carries (3.6 YPC) – with 40 of those yards coming on two runs.