If any individual Denver Broncos player could be the poster boy for having a major chip on the shoulder, it would be running back Jaleel McLaughlin. So, when the analytics giant Pro Football Focus ranks the Broncos roster dead last in the entire league, McLaughlin isn't taking it lying down, and neither are his teammates.
Fostering grievances over going undrafted certainly lit a fire under McLaughlin during his rookie year. He didn't hear his name called on draft day, despite being the NCAA's all-time leading rusher. But McLaughlin still found a way to pop up on Sean Payton's radar, making Denver's final 2023 roster.
McLaughlin has managed to harness the motivation of going undrafted, turning the rejection into high-octane fuel to drive him forward. The second-year pro is hoping the Broncos' locker room can fashion a collective chip on the shoulder after having their faces rubbed in the dirt by the likes of PFF and other national publications.
"Yeah, I hear it. And it pisses me off," McLaughlin told 104,3 The FAN this week. "We gonna show them. I want them same people to keep that same energy at the end of this year. Actually, after the first game. We're gonna show them the first game. And I've kept some receipts."
The common perception is that pro athletes somehow manage to block out the outside noise, but perhaps McLaughlin's remarks is to be believed, the bulletin board at Dove Valley is most certainly open for business.
"I'm sure if everyone in the locker room, they've seen it like I am, it's gonna piss them off too," McLaughlin said. "That's how we're practicing. Like look, we're gonna show you all."
After eight straight seasons exiled in the playoff wilderness, it's understandable that many Broncos fans are running low on hope. Sure, the draft brought a first-round quarterback in Bo Nix to breathe some life back into the organization, but things aren't likely to suddenly turn around overnight.
Right on cue, Mclaughlin had a timely motivational message for Broncos Country — seemingly designed to re-energize its weary bones.
"Broncos Country, we coming this year," McLaughlin said. "We appreciate ya'll's support. We're working hard every single day, and don't listen to them people that's talking crazy. We're coming to win this year for sure."
This new-look Broncos team is apparently intent on winning its fair share of games in 2024, and McLaughlin is spearheading that bombastic rallying cry. What's perhaps even more notable is that younger players like McLaughlin are stepping up and assuming crucial leadership roles.
It's a bold youth movement that Coach Payton is both embracing and cultivating because he knows it can give a rebuilding team a competitive edge.
There's a new energy to it, a new challenge," Payton said during OTAs. "I think really it's that challenge of working with a young team, not just at quarterback. I think that's the one thing I notice at least watching. I feel the competition. I think it's part of what makes this job exciting because it is very competitive."
