The Denver Broncos had something special brewing in the backfield through the first 10 weeks of the 2025 NFL Season. J.K. Dobbins, through those first 10 weeks, was on pace for over 1,300 yards on the ground. An unfortunate foot injury ended his season, and it was yet another year in which Dobbins was unable to stay on the field consistently.
One of the more efficient running backs in the league when healthy, Dobbins does have a ton of value when on the field. He's averaged over five yards per carry across his career and does average over 1,000 rushing yards over a 17-game season.
This isn't some replaceable player in many regards, but it's clear that Dobbins is more of a "1A" option, rather than a true bell-cow. The team did take RJ Harvey in Round 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft, but when Dobbins went down, Harvey didn't appear to be a functional runner. Well, the Broncos further invested at the position with Jonah Coleman, a pick in Round 4 of the 2026 NFL Draft. And while it's early, the Broncos might soon find themselves in a major logjam with the carries.
Denver Broncos might struggle to figure out the RB carries in 2026
In 2025, Dobbins averaged 15.3 carries per game, and Harvey averaged 8.6. Coleman could also easily be an immediate contributor in the room and cut into those carries. He's a solid runner in between the tackles and has been stellar in pass protection in college.
He's not the fastest running back, but that's simply not the type of player he is. Coleman does have the skillset to earn some carries as a rookie, but two problems then develop - how would Harvey fit into the mix, and would that stunt his development, and how many carries does Dobbins get?
Unless something major changes, Dobbins is going to remain the best running back in his room, so it'd be smart to give him most of the carries, but it's going to be a challenge figuring out how many to give the veteran to ensure he remains fresh, and, additionally, it's also going to be a challenge to figure out how to divide the carries with Harvey and Coleman.
This could end up being the one downside to having so many functional running backs. Most teams don't typically have notable roles for three running backs. There is usually a second who earns some carries here and there, and maybe someone else for third-down duties.
But both Coleman and Dobbins are good enough to be three-down backs, and Harvey does have breakaway speed and pass-catching ability - more than the other two. With Davis Webb now calling the plays, this is his problem, but it's not necessarily a bad thing at all.
It simply might take some time during the season to figure out how to best divide things in this room, as all three players bring a notable skillset to the mix that will need to be maximized.
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