The Denver Broncos have really put forth a great deal of effort to shore up the running back room over the past couple of seasons. The room looks totally different from when Sean Payton arrived, as the team has drafted a pair of hopeful long-term contributors in RJ Harvey and Jonah Coleman in the second and fourth rounds of the 2025 and 2026 NFL Drafts.
The team has also given J.K. Dobbins two contracts, as he's back for his second year in the orange and blue after a 2025 season that was off to an encouraging start, but only lasted 10 games. Now, through one month in the 2026 season, the entire run game looks off and inefficient.
Denver has the fourth-worst run game in the NFL in terms of yards per game, and at this point, Dobbins feels like an unreliable narrator in this 2026 story.
Denver Broncos might have a problem on their hands with J.K. Dobbins
Through four games this year, Dobbins has produced the following:
46 carries
161 yards
0 touchdowns
3.5 yards per rush
His first four games in 2025 looked a lot different:
57 carries
323 yards
3 touchdowns
5.7 yards per rush
Dobbins has half of his yardage total this year as he did last year through the first four games. He's not gotten into the end zone and is averaging over two yards fewer per rush. We can argue whether this is a run blocking issue or runner issue, but the Broncos offensive line is the same it's been the past three seasons now, so you'd likely give that group the benefit of the doubt.
And given how injured Dobbins has been throughout his career, there is a non-zero chance he's already in a decline. The shelf life for running backs in the NFL is shorter than most other positions, and it's especially shorter for players who can't stay on the field.
A player that was once always efficient when he got onto the field is now anything but through the first month. You want to look at the bright side here and simply hope that the Broncos six-game gauntlet to begin the season is contributing to his lack of production, and while you are 100 percent entitled to believe that, we can also wonder if Dobbins just isn't who he used to be.
In the coming weeks, the Broncos will get Coleman back off IR, and perhaps that could begin to get the run game going. If not, the offense is going to continue to suffer. When Dobbins, Harvey, and Coleman are all on the field, it could end up being one of the best running back rooms in the NFL, at least in terms of depth.
And if Dobbins can figure this thing out soon, the Broncos could see the running game do a total 180, as Dobbins has averaged 5.1 yards per carry over his six-year NFL career, which has now spanned 51 regular season games.
For a reliable player that comes off as one of the more loved on the team, his 2026 season has us wondering if he's flat-out unreliable now.
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