What It Means:

Gordon sat out Saturday's preseason game, but Fangio said the injury is minor and that the veteran back isn't expected to miss much time. Second-round rookie Javonte Williams started over Royce Freeman on Saturday and rushed five times for 29 yards. Williams is expected to lead the Broncos in carries this season and he has a chance to earn the starting job as soon as Week 1. Gordon, 28, appears headed for a reduced role in the last year of his contract. Per Fantasy Football Calculator, Gordon is currently a seventh-round selection in 12-team PPR formats.

numberFire's projections expect Gordon to be out-carried by Williams 667.1-867.8 and out-targeted 39.4-29.4 this season. Gordon is the RB36 and Williams is the RB26 in our preseason fantasy rankings. Gordon ranked 46th in Rushing Net Expected Points per carry last season out of 76 running backs with at least 50 attempts.