The Denver Broncos have really revamped the running back room in the Sean Payton era, as it's either been a weakness or far from a strength thus far. It was trending toward being a major strength during the 2025 NFL Season, but J.K. Dobbins' tragic foot injury in Week 10 ended his season.
At that time, Dobbins was on pace for over 1,300 rushing yards and was among the most productive players in the league at the position. When Dobbins went down, though, the efficiency went out the window, as RJ Harvey just did not have the consistent rushing ability to even come close to Dobbins' production.
Anyway, the Broncos parted with Jaleel McLaughlin, who had been present in the room for years prior, as re-signing Dobbins and the team drafting Jonah Coleman made McLaughlin expendable, but his next team does feel quite obvious.
Former Denver Broncos' RB Jaleel McLaughlin could end up with the Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys ranked 7th in the NFL in points scored per game during the 2025 season, and managed to win seven games despite having one of the worst defenses in the league. The Cowboys did revamp the defensive side of the ball this offseason in a clear effort to get that unit trending in the right direction.
Christian Parker, a former Broncos assistant under Vic Fangio, is the defensive coordinator. Another former Broncos who emerged as a great option for Dallas is Javonte Williams, who enjoyed a career year in 2025 and inked a three-year extension.
Williams was a draft pick by the Broncos back in 2021 and just did not find his groove with the team. He signed with Dallas before the 2025 season and ran for 1,201 yards, 11 touchdowns, and a solid 4.8 yards per carry in 16 games.
Williams was teammates with McLaughlin on the Broncos in 2023 and 2024, the two best years of McLaughlin's career. He racked up 570 scrimmage yards as a rookie in 2023, and 572 as a second-year player in 2024. He added six touchdowns during that time and averaged a solid 4.7 yards per touch.
McLaughlin's undersized but agile skillset would also give the Cowboys something they don't currently have in the room. The Cowboys currently roster three running backs: Williams, Malik Davis, and Hunter Luepke. Davis is 5'10, 205 pounds, and Luepke is 6-1 and 250 pounds. Neither Davis nor Luepke comes close to having the production that McLaughlin has, so he'd quite easily slide into an RB2 role.
Dallas does have a legitimate workhorse back in Williams, but there isn't a ton to be excited about behind him. Lastly, McLaughlin being a faster player does also give him natural big play ability as well.
He'd be the quickest, fastest player in the room and bring a needed skillset to the Cowboys stable. With how good Dallas was on offense in 2025, there also isn't a reason to not continue adding to a strength.
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