So far, so good for Denver Broncos rookie running back Jaleel McLaughlin.
The NCAA’s all-time leading rusher, McLaughlin signed with Denver as an undrafted free agent this spring and he made a good first impression on head coach Sean Payton.
“He has a little burst, and there’s some toughness to him,” Payton said on July 31. “He’s the first one here. I don’t know what time he gets here in the morning, but it’s pretty early. He’s a guy you root for. He’s shifty, and he has good change of direction.”
Payton was asked just how early McLaughlin has been arriving at the facility and the coach said it’s been before the field staff around at 5 a.m. Payton then implied that McLaughlin’s undrafted status won’t hurt his chances of making the team.
“We say this to all of them: once they get in the room, how they got here — drafted, undrafted, free agent, free agency — it doesn’t matter. We kind of held true to that in our years in New Orleans. We had a ton of free agents play for us that deserved to play, so we try to evaluate everyone.”
McLaughlin’s performance in preseason will ultimately prove to be more important than how early he arrives at the facility each morning. If the running back plays well in the team’s preseason games this month, McLaughlin will have a real chance to win the RB3 job behind Javonte Williams and Samaje Perine.
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