An excellent case can be made that the Denver Broncos' biggest need heading into the 2025 offseason was addressing their issues at the running back position. Denver only returned two of their backs from last season, and only Tyler Badie has seen snaps from that duo of him and Jaleel McLaughlin. In fact, the former Youngstown State star has been inactive for all three games in the young season.
Denver addressed the running back position in two major ways: drafting UCF product RJ Harvey in the second round of April's NFL Draft, and signing veteran back JK Dobbins to a one-year deal shortly after. In total, Denver sent two running backs out (Javonte Williams and Audric Estime) while bringing in their two new ones, and their rushing game has taken off.
Of note, JK Dobbins has quickly become the most effective and efficient Broncos running back in quite some time. Dobbins is bringing a level of play to the field that the team hasn't seen since pre-injury Javonte Williams, and could be setting himself up for a nice payday this spring.
The Athletic asserts that Dobbins brings "an incredible amount of juice" into Denver's search for its offensive identity
In a recent piece by Nick Kosmider for The Athletic, it becomes incredibly easy to see why the Broncos brought in JK Dobbins and why he is having the early success he is. Dobbins entered the week as one of the NFL's ten leading rushers, and can once again sit in that group with 49 yards on Monday Night Football.
"Dobbins has never missed the playoffs during a season he has played in, and he doesn’t plan to have that change now as the Broncos try to dig themselves out of a 1-2 hole. It’s why he’ll demand the Broncos redo a running play in practice that wasn’t executed with the right details", says Kosmider on Dobbins.
If one thing is perfectly clear, it's that the Broncos need more JK Dobbins. Not in the sense that Dobbins has let the team down, but that he clearly has more to give, and the team needs to take it. Dobbins currently ranks eighth in the league in rushing yards per game with 74, and will go up against a Bengals defense that allows 119 yards per game. Dobbins, only 26, still seems to have plenty of juice in his legs.
As the Broncos head into a must-win game against the Bengals, it would behoove them to lean on Dobbins. At roughly 75 yards a game, he is producing in a way that the Broncos have not had in quite some time, and Denver needs to take advantage of that. It might have been George Paton's quietest move of the winter, but no move has paid off to the extent that signing Dobbins has.