The Denver Broncos, among other small issues, have not been able to field a consistent running game in the Sean Payton era. It's not necessarily been a major weakness, but the Broncos have invested into the room in a significant way the past two offseasons.
Back in the 2025 offseason, the Broncos signed J.K. Dobbins to a one-year deal and had, in April of that year, used a second-round pick on RJ Harvey. Then, in the fourth-round of the 2026 NFL Draft, the Broncos snagged Jonah Coleman, who Payton actually compared to Dobbins earlier this offseason, which is notable.
While Dobbins does come with injury concerns, he, Harvey, and Coleman either are or could very easily be legitimate contributors this season, as Harvey has shown off his receiving ability in camp, and Coleman recently got some high Payton praise. However, could the running back room suddenly present a good problem for the team?
Denver Broncos may end up having a surplus at running back in the 2026 season
Payton really offers a lot of insight here:
Clear Sean Payton believes RJ Harvey is making a leap in pass-protection.
— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) August 6, 2026
Still said it's hard to envision featuring 3 RBs in a game. All of JK Dobbins, Harvey, Jonah Coleman would have roles if active on gameday. But rotation will likely lean toward heavier touches for 2. pic.twitter.com/fzouDVbolI
Here's some of the more interesting parts of what Payton said in the above blurb:
"Look, there's three runners you all are looking at now, and obviously more than just three. And so they're all trying to find their niche and their roles with what they can do. But I know we're a lot further along in that position than maybe, well, I know we are, three years ago.
I think it's a good problem to have [featuring three 3 RBs]. I know you can feature two. I think three is difficult sometimes. But I'm not worried about that right now. Just, let's go, and these guys are all competing for their spots. But I do think in the game itself, it's hard as you're trying to manage three. And look, everyone who's dressed is going to play, so there'll be roles for them."
So, on one hand, all three running backs could have notable roles in 2026, which is awesome that the team could legitimately have three contributors. On the other hand, even as Payton notes, it could be quite hard to get three running backs involved. There simply isn't likely to be enough touches to go around. I mean, how many teams in the NFL legitimately use three running backs?
Even your average RB2 in the NFL isn't getting a ton of work. As an example, in the 2025 NFL Season, the Washington Commanders saw nearly all of their running back production wrapped up between Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Chris Rodriguez. The third running back in the rotation was Jeremy McNichols, who got just 44 carries.
Here is how it looked with Croskey-Merritt and Rodriguez:
Croskey-Merritt: 175 attempts, 805 yards, 9 receptions, 68 yards
Rodriguez: 112 carries, 500 yards, 3 receptions, 30 yards
McNichols was their primary receiving back. Not only are there not enough touches to go around at running back to get all three involved in a big way, but this doesn't even consider the touches for the deep wide receiver room and tight end room.
The Broncos added Jaylen Waddle to the mix at wide receiver, so he and Courtland Sutton not only present one of the best duos in the NFL, but they're both going to see a ton of targets. Second-year receiver Pat Bryant is having himself a camp and is going to command some targets, and Evan Engram is the primary receiving threat at tight end, so he'll also need some targets.
There really isn't a perfect solution here, and it is going to end up with one of Harvey or Coleman not getting a ton of touches overall, whether it's carrying the ball or receiving. Dobbins is going to remain the RB1 throughout the season unless something major changes - he's incredibly efficient with the ball in his hands.
Both Harvey and Coleman are solid receivers, and that's an area where the Broncos simply may not used Dobbins much at all. The bright side of all of this, though, is that it does turn this room into a likely strength during the season, especially when playoffs roll around.
If the Broncos truly end up having three capable running backs, which almost feels impossible, Denver will be able to keep that trio fresh throughout a potential playoff push. But when we get into the regular season, there is a very realistic chance that a running back is going to get the short end of the stick certain weeks.
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