The Denver Broncos had their share of issues during the 2025 NFL Season, but, fortunately, many of the issues did not derail the season overall. The biggest issue you could argue the team faced was the inconsistencies at running back when J.K. Dobbins went down.
Dobbins was healthy for the first 10 weeks of the season, but got knocked out for the rest of the year thanks to a foot injury suffered on a hip-drop tackle, which was less than ideal. The Broncos saw Dobbins suiting up every week to that point, I am not even sure he so much as appeared on the injury report until he hurt his foot.
He did deserve the extension that the Broncos gave to him this offseason, but they only invested in him for one guaranteed season, so the front office did go about that deal in a smart way. When you look at the rest of the running back room as well, this unit already looks quite nice, even with it not yet being training camp.
The Denver Broncos really have a nice thing going with the running back room
Over the last two offseasons, including this one, the Broncos have inked Dobbins on two separate contracts, drafted RJ Harvey in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and then took Jonah Coleman in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
That is a lot of resources poured into this room, but it's been needed. Through the first 10 weeks of the season, Denver's run game was working rather perfectly. Dobbins was taking the bulk of the carries, and Harvey was sprinkled in as that change-of-pace player with high-end receiving ability.
This 1A/1B set up was exactly how the two were needing to be used, but the Broncos were risking a Dobbins' injury, as that has unfortunately followed him his entire career. To give themselves a bit of insurance with the Dobbins' situation, the two-year deal he signed, as I mentioned above, is essentially a one-year deal if the Broncos want it to be.
If Dobbins again struggles to stay on the field in 2026, the Broncos can cut him rather easily next offseason. He has no guaranteed money on his deal after this season. Harvey is obviously back in the mix as well, and while he did struggle at times as a ball-carrier in 2025, his receiving ability ended up being a huge part of the offseason, and he was able to find the end zone 12 times, which is notable.
Coleman enters the mix as a rookie, and it was head coach Sean Payton himself who said that Coleman's running style was/is similar to Dobbins, which is a massive compliment. Coleman is a tough, rugged runner who protects the ball well and is also someone who has excellent pass protection skills.
For all intents and purposes, there really isn't anything with his game overall that would prevent him from not seeing the field a lot in 2026. While this may be an optimistic view, the Broncos could end up using Dobbins, Harvey, and Coleman frequently.
Dobbins and Coleman are the best runners on the team, but with Dobbins, right now, being the better player, he should see more carries than Coleman until the rookie proves otherwise. This would then increase Dobbins' chances of staying healthy throughout an entire season.
And with Harvey, his ability as a receiver is the best on the team at the position, so the Broncos could soon see a key role emerging with him.
Overall, the Broncos do appear to have a very complementary running back room, and even though it's not even training camp, the unit already feels quite solid.
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