The Denver Broncos are in a bit of a pickle when it comes to addressing the running back position during the 2026 NFL offseason. On the one hand, a massive upgrade like Breece Hall or Travis Etienne would be a welcome addition to the offense.
On the other hand, the Broncos need to find more pass-catching weapons to support Bo Nix, and running backs are more a dime a dozen than wide receivers or tight ends. Oh, and there is the whole J.K. Dobbins situation that Denver, and its fans, have no idea what to do with.
Dobbins looked like a top-10 running back in the early part of the 2025 NFL season. But that's the problem: he only played in the early part of the season. As always, Dobbins was hurt for a portion of the campaign, as the 2020 draft pick has yet to be healthy for an entire NFL season.
But the Broncos should look to re-sign him next month, if for no other reason than to prevent him from signing with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Denver Broncos must re-sign J.K. Dobbins to prevent him signing with Chiefs
Look, Denver took full advantage of the Chiefs having a down year and waltzed through the AFC in the regular season. And yes, Kansas City's finances aren't great, and they'll likely have to bleed some of their good players this offseason. But can you ever count Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes out?
Adding a running back like Dobbins into the fold would transform their rushing attack, which they sorely missed in 2025. The only thing worse than not having a Dobbins-level player in Denver would be to see him in Kansas City.
Now, should George Paton re-sign Dobbins for the sole purpose of keeping him out of the Chiefs' grasp? No. But it's certainly an underrated reason to do so, in addition to the idea that Dobbins raises the floor of the Broncos' running back room.
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If the rushing attack was a three-headed monster in 2026 between Dobbins, R.J. Harvey, and a solid veteran addition like Tyler Allgeier or a promising youngster in the draft like Arkansas' Mike Washington Jr., that would be a two-fold benefit for Denver.
Not only would Dobbins get fewer carries, which would presumably help him take care of his body better, but the Broncos would have more of a contingency plan in place than they had this past year. Being able to run the ball effectively in a snowstorm in January is quite the benefit, as it turns out.
Re-signing Dobbins would help the Broncos, and it would prevent him from helping out Reid, Mahomes and the Chiefs. That's like two victories for Denver, and it is an underrated reason to keep Dobbins in-house in free agency.