Even before preseason finale, Jaleel McLaughlin looks like he belongs

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Jaleel McLaughlin appears to have done enough to be on the 53-player roster.

But that’s only an observation to be made from a distance. Down closer, from the rookie running back’s own perspective, the view is a bit different. The intensity of the moment and the mathematics of the roster crunch — 90 players for 53 precious spots — consumes other sentiments. So does the constant churn of the NFL.

It’s understandable that it hasn’t yet crossed his mind.

“I haven’t even thought about it,” McLaughlin said this week. “No matter how big or how low you get in life, you’ve never done enough. … I know I sound like a broken record, but I’m just going to keep working.”

In the Broncos’ first two preseason games, he accounted for three of their four touchdowns. But such a surface-level stat line means precisely bupkis. What matters is how those plays happened. They sat at the intersection of good work from teammates to create space and the rookie’s quickness and dynamism to turn them into something special.

On both of his touchdowns last Saturday in San Francisco, he made a move that left a defender — or defenders, as was the case on his touchdown catch — grasping, flailing and otherwise lost.

McLaughlin led the Broncos in all-purpose yardage last Saturday. His 44-yard kickoff return led to a 43-yard Tony Jones Jr. gain, which set up his 9-yard touchdown reception.

But he believes he could have done more.

“There was a couple of plays I left on the field. Everything’s not perfect. So, definitely going to work on that this week,” he said a few days ago. “And I won’t miss those cuts. I won’t miss those opportunities anymore.”

EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS FOREVER CHANGED THE PERCEPTION FOR JALEEL McLAUGHLIN

At one point during his childhood, Jaleel McLaughlin, his brother and his mother lived out of a Ford Focus. He still kept attending school and remained active in athletics.

“There’s been games where I had a great game, and I come home to nothing. I come home to sleeping in the car,” he recalled. “That’s why I said I never get too high, and I never get too low.”

This is an apex for McLaughlin. Not only does a spot on an NFL roster appear within reach — but a key role on it does, too. He sits at the cusp of not only having his dream come true, but experiencing a truly life-changing event.

And his nearest and dearest will be there.

“My mom, my family, they’re making it to every game,” he said. “No matter what they have. It definitely motivates me a lot. I might have a down day, or say, ‘Oh, it’s early in the morning.’ But I think about my family. I think about the sacrifice that they’re making to be able to come watch me play.

“They really look up to me, so, I’m really going to keep working hard for them.”

HOW IT CAME TOGETHER

Jaleel McLaughlin wasn’t particularly worried about going undrafted last spring. He knew there would be an opportunity. As he noted, “a bunch” of teams expressed interest in him and interviewed him.

But he felt something different when he chatted with Broncos running backs coach Lou Ayeni.

“I had written down in my notebook different interviews that I had,” McLaughlin recalled. “And the No. 1 thing that I had from Denver, was that this was my favorite interview. So, that’s what really led me to Denver.”

And, in turn, to Sean Payton.

“Not only does he teach you about football, but my first three days here, I had a page and a half of just life-lesson notes,” McLaughlin said. “That how I knew I was in the right place.”

In the months that followed, he showed day after day why he fit with the Broncos — and deserved a place in the league. That notion was nothing new to him; he had it when he advanced from Division II to FCS.

“You gotta go in with the mindset that you belong,” he said. “So, that’s what mindset I came in with. Coming from Division II, all the way to FCS — the Missouri Valley is a very tough conference in FCS, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, all of those guys — so I’ve always tried to prove that I belong.

“You know, I’m just going to keep doing that.”

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