Audric Estimé Profile: From Notre Dame Record-Breaker to Saints Depth Chart Longshot
The name is pronounced AWE-drick ess-TE-may, and if you’ve been saying it wrong, you’re not alone. The Saints even included the phonetic spelling in his official bio. He’s a 22-year-old running back who set a Notre Dame record that stood for 39 years, got cut by two teams in the span of two months, and then ran for 94 yards and a touchdown in a Week 17 win over the Tennessee Titans wearing a Saints jersey he’d only had for seven weeks. That’s about where things stand with Audric Estimé.
Background: New Jersey, Michigan State, and a Change of Plans
Estimé was born on September 6, 2003, though there’s a minor sourcing conflict worth flagging: Pro Football Reference lists his birthplace as Atlanta, Georgia, while the Saints’ official site says Nyack, New York. The high school record is not in dispute. He attended St. Joseph Regional in Montvale, New Jersey, where he ran for 3,641 yards and 48 touchdowns across his prep career and was named the 2020 New Jersey Football Player of the Year by NJ.com. His senior season alone produced 190 carries, 1,857 yards, and 22 touchdowns.
He committed to Michigan State before decommitting in December 2020 to sign with Notre Dame. His cousin is Terrence Fede, a defensive end who spent time with the Miami Dolphins. None of that background is particularly unusual for a high-end recruit, but the Michigan State pivot matters a little because Notre Dame’s backfield was stacked when he arrived, and patience was going to be required.
Notre Dame: Three Years, One Record That Had Stood Since 1984
His freshman year (2021) was essentially a redshirt in function if not in name: 7 carries, 60 yards, no touchdowns. Kyren Williams was the starter and there was simply no room. Williams left for the Rams after that season, and Estimé became the lead back in 2022, running 156 times for 920 yards with 11 touchdowns (good for 10th-most in a single season in Notre Dame history at the time) and adding 9 receptions for 135 yards. He had his first career 100-yard game against North Carolina in Week 4, finishing with 134 yards and two scores.
Note on the carry count: the NFLDraftBuzz scouting report lists 142 carries for 811 yards in 2022, while the Notre Dame official site and most other sources say 156 carries and 920 yards. The discrepancy likely reflects whether bowl game or certain non-conference statistics are included. The 920-yard figure is corroborated by the Broncos’ official bio and is probably the right one to use.
His junior year in 2023 was a genuine national breakout. He started all 12 games, ran 210 times for 1,341 yards at 6.4 yards per carry, and scored 18 rushing touchdowns. That per-carry average put him 12th in the country among FBS backs. He ranked tied third in all of FBS in rushing touchdowns. He had six games with 100 or more rushing yards. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman called him “a tough, physical, special football player” after the Stanford game.
The Stanford game deserves its own space.
Stanford, November 25, 2023: 238 Yards and the Record
Notre Dame came in ranked 17th and overcame three first-half turnovers to win 56-23. Estimé ran 25 times for 238 yards and four touchdowns, scoring on runs of 39, 6, 5, and 25 yards, with all of his production coming in the first three quarters. He averaged 79 rushing yards per quarter. The 238 yards were the 17th 200-yard rushing game in Notre Dame history and the first by a Fighting Irish back since Dexter Williams in 2018.
The four touchdowns gave him 18 on the season, breaking Allen Pinkett’s single-season record of 17 set in 1984. That record had stood for 39 years. At the end of his college career, Estimé sat 11th on Notre Dame’s all-time rushing list with 2,321 yards, trailing George Gipp (of “Win One for the Gipper” fame) by just 20 yards. He declared for the 2024 NFL Draft rather than return for his senior year.
His full Notre Dame numbers by season:
2021: 7 carries, 60 yards, 8.6 YPC, 0 TDs (5 games)
2022: 156 carries, 920 yards, 5.9 YPC, 11 TDs, 9 receptions, 135 yards (12 games)
2023: 210 carries, 1,341 yards, 6.4 YPC, 18 TDs, 17 receptions, 142 yards (12 games)
Career: 373 carries, 2,321 yards, 6.2 YPC, 29 TDs
2024 NFL Draft: What Scouts Said, and What They Got Right
He measured in at 5-foot-11, 227 pounds at the combine (some pre-draft reports said 221 or 225, but 227 is the official number). His 40-yard dash was 4.71 seconds, with a 10-yard split of 1.58. He posted 38 inches on the vertical, 10’5″ on the broad jump, and 23 reps on the bench press. His Pro Day 40 was reportedly 4.58, though combine times are generally the standard reference.
The scouting consensus was pretty consistent. He was called a prototypical power back, a north-south runner who works best between the tackles, with exceptional contact balance and a nose for the end zone. The hurdle was a signature move from Notre Dame. Multiple reports noted he was a capable pass blocker on third downs, which matters to coaches deciding whether a back earns a helmet on game day. His vertical jump (38 inches) is notably good for a 227-pound back and suggests more explosiveness than the 40 time implies.
The knocks were equally consistent: his top-end speed limits his ability to stretch plays to the perimeter, his lateral agility is adequate but not special, and his receiving routes are basic. One scouting service gave him a rating of 82.7 and ranked him ninth among running backs in the class. The general verdict was early-down back with a defined role, not a feature back in a modern spread-heavy offense.
Denver selected him in the fifth round, 147th overall, on May 11, 2024. He signed a four-year, $4.36 million contract with a $339,124 signing bonus and $339,124 guaranteed, represented by Klutch Sports Group.
Denver Broncos (2024): One IR Stint, Two Touchdowns, One Playoff Snub
He was placed on injured reserve on September 11, 2024, before Week 1, which cost him more than a month of his rookie season. He returned on October 12 and played 13 games with one start. His rookie-year numbers: 76 carries, 310 yards, 4.1 yards per carry, 2 touchdowns, 5 receptions for 27 yards. His best single game in Denver came against Kansas City with 14 carries for 53 yards. He scored his first NFL touchdown in Week 16 against the Chargers on a 5-yard run.
Here’s the part that nobody has really explained. Sean Payton said publicly heading into the 2025 offseason that Estimé “requires more touches.” Then when the Broncos faced the Buffalo Bills in the wild card round, Estimé was listed inactive. Tyler Badie, recently activated from injured reserve, took his spot. No public explanation from the coaching staff was given for the decision. Payton’s praise on one hand and the playoff DNP on the other don’t square easily, and no profile of Estimé has actually addressed what happened. Was it a scheme preference? A health issue? Roster manipulation to protect Badie’s eligibility? The answer isn’t public.
What happened next was predictable given the offseason. The Broncos drafted UCF running back RJ Harvey in the second round of the 2025 draft. Javonte Williams left for Dallas. J.K. Dobbins signed in free agency. By August, Estimé was fifth in the running back rotation. He was waived on August 25, 2025.
Philadelphia to New Orleans: The Journeyman Year
The Eagles signed him to their practice squad on August 29. He was released six weeks later on October 14 without appearing in a regular-season game. On October 21, the Saints signed him to their practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on November 5. His Saints debut came December 7 in an upset over Tampa Bay: 3 carries, 11 yards.
Then Alvin Kamara’s knee gave out. Kendre Miller went on injured reserve. Devin Neal’s hamstring went. With three of the team’s top backs sidelined, the Saints turned to Estimé in Week 17 against Tennessee. He played 76 percent of offensive snaps, carried 14 times for 94 yards, scored on a 32-yard run late in the game to effectively ice a 34-26 win, and added a catch for four yards. The next week against Atlanta, he got 21 carries for 63 yards and caught all five of his targets for 43 yards in a 19-17 loss.
His full 2025 Saints line: 7 games, 1 start, 46 carries, 198 yards, 4.3 yards per carry, 1 touchdown, 12 catches for 103 yards. Career NFL totals through the end of 2025: 20 games, 2 starts, 122 carries, 508 yards, 4.2 yards per carry, 3 touchdowns, 17 receptions for 130 yards.
How He Actually Plays
His defining trait is what scouts call contact balance. He doesn’t run around defenders; he runs through them and keeps his feet moving. At 227 pounds with a low center of gravity, he absorbs arm tackles well and regularly converts what should be a two-yard gain into four or five. His broken-tackle rate at Notre Dame was among the best in the country in 2023, though precise broken-tackle-per-attempt data at the NFL level isn’t well-documented in the publicly available sources for his limited sample size.
The hurdle is real. He used it regularly at Notre Dame and broke off runs because of it. Scouting reports noted he occasionally overuses it, jumping when a cut would serve better, but it gives him a genuine third dimension most power backs don’t have. He gets to full speed quickly after landing from a jump or hurdle, which is harder than it looks at his size.
As a pass protector, he’s been graded above average, which is genuinely important. Third-down packages in the modern NFL often bench pure runners who can’t pick up a blitz. Estimé can, and coaches notice. His receiving work is more limited: he’s effective on screens and checkdowns but doesn’t run sophisticated routes and doesn’t create separation against linebackers in space. He had a career-high 12 catches in 2025, mostly because the Saints were leaning on him out of necessity, not because of a designed receiving role.
The 4.71 forty is what it is. He’s not going to run away from safeties on a cutback. His play speed is faster than that number suggests in tight traffic, but on the perimeter against athletic NFL defenders, he’s limited.
2026: Where He Stands on the Saints Depth Chart
This is the part fantasy managers and Saints fans want answered directly. The Saints signed Travis Etienne to a reported four-year contract worth around $48 million in the offseason. Alvin Kamara is back for at least one more season (coach Kellen Moore has said he expects Kamara to be part of their plans, though retirement speculation hasn’t fully gone away given that Kamara turns 31 this July and is in the final year of his deal). Behind them, the depth chart runs Devin Neal, Kendre Miller, Ty Chandler, and then Estimé, in roughly that order.
Teams rarely keep six running backs. If the Saints carry four into the regular season, Estimé is sitting on the practice squad again. If they carry five, he might get active on game days when the game script calls for a physical runner on short yardage. RotoBaller has him at RB106 in their 2026 rankings. That tells you everything about his redraft fantasy value: he has none unless Etienne, Kamara, and both of the backups in front of him get hurt, which is exactly how he ended up starting against the Titans.
The dynasty community’s take is a little more charitable, mainly because he’s 22 and his tape shows something. But he’s sixth on his own depth chart right now. Dynasty value is contingent on either making a roster move or the Saints’ backfield getting decimated by injuries again, which happened in 2025 and could happen again, but is not something you plan around.
There’s one thing worth sitting with. In Week 18 last year, with the season effectively over, the Saints handed Estimé 21 carries. That’s a lead-back workload in a real NFL game. He handled it. The coaches saw something, kept him on the roster, and will now make him compete for a spot behind $48 million worth of Travis Etienne. That’s the position he’s in heading into training camp.
His 2026 Saints bye week falls in Week 6.
Comments