Question: Will Javonte Williams or Audric Estime be the Broncos’ leading rusher in 2024?

Mark Kiszla, sports columnist

Answer: Audric Estime

Want to know one big reason why the Broncos have stunk for so long? The last player on this team to rush for 1,000 yards in a season now talks 1,000 words per hour on the radio.

Where have you gone, Phillip Lindsay?

OK, while you can now find Lindsay talking sports on Denver Sports 104.3 FM from Monday through Friday, the Broncos still haven’t found what Lindsay brought to the field on Sundays. Denver hasn’t wielded the hammer of a 1,000-yard rusher since Lindsay achieved that milestone way back in 2019.

If it’s true that one of the best friends a rookie quarterback in the NFL can have is a strong running game, then I want to know: Who’s going to be Bo Nix’s new BFF in the Denver huddle?

Estime, drafted in the fifth round out of Notre Dame, brings all the power that Williams can — plus an early burst that can make a linebacker miss.

Well, we learned Thursday that Estime won’t be seen again on the field until training camp, after undergoing what coach Sean Payton assures us was nothing more than minor knee surgery.

Maybe the absence from what remains of spring drills will delay his emergence as the team’s lead back. But it won’t stop Estime from leading the Broncos in rushing. And if the fertile football imagination of Payton can find a way to hand Estime the rock on the regular, don’t be surprised if he breaks the 1,000-yard barrier.

***

Chris Tomasson, Broncos beat writer

Answer: Javonte Williams

True, the Broncos haven’t had a 1,000-yard rusher since Lindsay. But they did have a 900-yard one in Williams, who gained 903 yards as a rookie in 2021.

Williams suffered a serious knee injury in October 2022, including a torn ACL. He missed the rest of that season and was hardly overwhelming last year, when he rushed for 774 yards while averaging just 3.6 yards per carry.

But Payton has been saying since last season players who return from ACL injuries are much better in their second year back. He reiterated that on Thursday and made note about how Williams has been “looking good” during the first two weeks of organized team activities.

“He’s been doing well,’’ Payton said. “He’s in shape. I know that he’s looking forward to the (season).”

Williams will have to earn being Denver’s No. 1 back, a role he’s had when not injured since he was a rookie. It won’t be easy with the Broncos having taken Estime in the fifth round of the draft and signing notable undrafted free agent Blake Watson and also having holdovers Samaje Perine and Jaleel McLaughlin.

But Williams should be up to the task. He looked bound for stardom when he burst onto the scene as a rookie. Yes, he was derailed by the injury, but Williams has a tremendous work ethic and is determined to return to his 2021 form.

Williams has been Denver’s leading rusher in two of his first three seasons. He should make it three of four in 2024.