Since the start of the Sean Payton era for the Denver Broncos, they have been in need of an improved running game almost every season. The team felt as though they had their answer last season with the duo of veteran JK Dobbins and rookie RJ Harvey, but a Lisfranc injury sidelined Dobbins, and Denver's lack of depth behind Harvey almost derailed their run to the AFC's top seed. It was apparent almost right away that Denver should have traded for a running back.
A year later, the Broncos are once again in need of running back help. The starting role has shifted from Dobbins to rookie Jonah Coleman, and Harvey remains their third-down and passing-down option, but injuries have cast a shadow over all three options. To add insult to injury, quite literally, their fourth running back, Tyler Badie, is currently on injured reserve alongside Harvey.
The Broncos find themselves needing a running back for the second straight season, and have the recent memories of their near-disaster 2025 finish to push them to bring in another option. With all of this being said, the Broncos made the decision that no fan wanted: standing pat.
The team made the choice not to bring in another running back before Tuesday's trade deadline, and now they have to hope that it doesn't come back to bite them like it almost did last season.
The Denver Broncos needed to trade for a running back before the trade deadline
After the Broncos decided not to add to their running back room on Tuesday afternoon (despite looking into options), it is incredibly fair to question whether this front office learned its lesson from last year or not. Their lack of depth at the position almost sank them, and it is clear that the Broncos are ready to run that risk again this year.
It's not only that the team didn't have the depth, but also that their second-string back wasn't ready for a first-string workload: Harvey averaged 3.4 yards per carry over 96 carries from Week 11 through Week 18.
That mark from Harvey was brutal and almost cost the Broncos a few key games, such as their Christmas Day game in Kansas City against the Chiefs. Just a tick below 3.4 yards per carry is JK Dobbins' mark this season of 3.3. That mark actually gets worse in games where he carries the ball 10 or more times - it drops to 3.2 yards.
With their running back room going untouched at the deadline, the Broncos now run the risk of being one injury away from this being the production of their starting back.
This all could have been avoided had the Broncos made a move for a running back before the deadline passed. To their credit, it appears as though the Titans did not want to move veteran Tony Pollard and the Colts did not want to move superstar Jonathan Taylor, but they were far from the only running backs available.
Badie won't be back until the Black Friday game against the Steelers, and Harvey won't be back until the following week against the Dolphins, and the Broncos better hope their other two backs stay healthy until then, or general manager George Paton will have a massive egg on his face quickly.
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