The Denver Broncos had one of the most uninspiring rushing attacks in the NFL in 2024, and these brutal stats prove just that. Given just how inconsistent Denver's run game was, I was actually a bit shocked they did not draft two running backs in the 2025 NFL Draft, but Audric Estime is still in the picture and is also just 21 years old, over two years younger than rookie RJ Harvey.
Denver seems to be content going into the 2025 NFL Season with Harvey and Estime as their primary backs, and this young duo could end up being just what this team needs. Without a strong rushing attack, the Broncos offense won't take off and will remain stagnant in this regard.
And some statistics really posted on Twitter/X really show just how bad the Broncos run game was in 2024...
The Broncos primary running back in 2024 was... awful
Ian Hartitz of Fantasy Life posted a series of statistics about Javonte Williams and is 2024 NFL Season, framing it as the Dallas Cowboys new RB1, as he may be the leader in their clubhouse to begin the 2025 season as such:
Cowboys RB1 Javonte Williams last season pic.twitter.com/d1l0ooz70x
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) May 11, 2025
The best statistic of this bunch is Williams ranking 26 out of 36 running backs with at least 125 carries in explosive rush rate. His knee injury at the beginning of the 2022 NFL Season really seems to still be impacting him, as he averaged less than four yards per carry in each of the last two seasons, and Denver let him leave in free agency for practically nothing.
This was, in my opinion, the worst draft pick that George Paton has made with the Broncos, especially when you remember that he traded up to take Williams in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. They hopefully corrected this mistake with RJ Harvey, but only time will tell.