The Denver Broncos have won eight straight games. They are 9-2 entering the bye week, and just got a huge victory over their division rival Kansas City Chiefs.
Things are pretty darn good in Broncos Country right now, but there is at least one dark cloud looming over the team's recent success: The season-ending injury to starting running back JK Dobbins. The Broncos placed Dobbins on IR after a foot injury which will require him to miss extensive time, and now the team is being forced to make lemonade out of the lemons that remain after the NFL trade deadline.
Looking at the list of available free agent running backs, the Broncos' best bet to add depth to the position may be to poach a player off of someone's practice squad. Whether the team decides to go with the proven veteran route or the upside route, the obvious move during the bye week is going to be bringing in a bigger-bodied back who can contribute on all three downs.
Broncos must add running back with some size during the bye week to upgrade depth
The overall outlook for the Broncos at the running back position shouldn't be too bad, at least on paper. They've gotten contributions this season out of all of RJ Harvey, Tyler Badie, and Jaleel McLaughlin. They have Deuce Vaughn on the practice squad, but Vaughn's lack of size makes him a bit redundant with the guys currently available to the team.
The Broncos could look to a veteran like Jamaal Williams, Zack Moss, or maybe even try to call Latavius Murray out of retirement and see if he wants to come play again.
It wouldn't be the first time Sean Payton has called and asked a player to come out of retirement.
The Broncos could also lean heavily on their scouting department here, and try to pluck someone off of another team's practice squad. One of the internal conversations that could be had in Denver is the value of going back to some recent scouting reports, and finding a bigger back who has skills to contribute right away on third down.
And not only as a receiver, but as a pass protector.
You're not likely going to find someone out there who can bring all of the elements JK Dobbins brought to the table at this stage of the season, so when you dust off the old scouting reports, what might you be looking for?
- Big-bodied back
- Physical between the tackles
- Grinds out tough yards
- Consistently falls forward
- Willing pass blocker
- Capable receiver
- Ball security
Surely there is someone out there on a practice squad who has these qualities. When the Broncos had practice squad running back Deuce Vaughn in for a workout earlier this season, they also tried out Tyrion Davis-Price, a former Day 2 pick of the 49ers who has been floating around the league.
The best option out there might very well be someone like former Seahawks practice squad running back Damien Martinez, who was released back in September. He had a lot of those qualities listed above coming out of Miami, and would be an interesting player to consider at this stage.
Regardless, the no-brainer during the bye week for the Broncos is to add a bigger running back to the mix who could reasonably be expected to contribute as soon as the bye week is up.