Will Mike Boone have an expanded role on the 2022 Broncos?
Like many running backs who find themselves on the end of an NFL roster, Mike Boone went undrafted out of college. He was signed by the Vikings after the 2018 NFL Draft when George Paton was still the assistant GM of the Minnesota Vikings. Paton then brought him on with the Denver Broncos as a free agent in March of 2021.
Mike Boone, RB
#26
Experience: 5 years
Height: 5-10
Age: 26
Weight: 206 lbs
College: Cincinnati
Boone has limited experience on offense in the NFL having only 174 career offensive snaps with 84 career touches (75 carries and nine catches). He has five games where he has ten or more offensive snaps and his career high is 28 in 2019 against the Bears in late December. The majority of his NFL contributions have been on special teams where he has 555 career snaps – including two years with more than 200. His injury in 2021 limited his contributions.
In the limited chances he has gotten to carry the ball in the NFL, he has been fairly elusive, at least according to SISdatahub.com. PFR only credits him with one broken tackle during his career while SIS credits him with eleven. Eleven on 84 touches is quite impressive. Pookie Williams led the league in rushing attempts per broken tackle in 2021 with 6.5 attempts per (he had 31 on 203). If you trust SIS, Boone has a career value of 6.8. You want a low value in this stat.
Unfortunately for Boone, his 2.1 million dollar cap hit for 2022 makes him a great target to be cut. Parting ways with Boone would incur $800k in dead money, but that is fairly easy to swallow. The Broncos have two un-draftee running backs, Damarea Crockett and Tyreik McAllister, who could easily fill Boone’s role as RB3 and special teams at a reduced price. FWIW Melvin Gordon only has a cap number of 2.6 million and Pookie has a cap number of 2.1 million like Boone.