The Denver Broncos running back room at the moment is pathetic, to say the least. They should add to this room before the 2023 NFL Draft. I really hope George Paton is not done adding to this room before the draft.
With Javonte Williams still on the mend and there being absolutely no guarantee that he'll be ready for week one, Denver currently has Samaje Perine, Tony Jones Jr, and Damarea Crockett on the depth chart.
That isn't good, folks. Perine has been a backup his entire career and has never rushed for more than 603 yards in a season. Tony Jones Jr has 179 career rushing yards and Damarea Crockett has a total of seven rushing yards for his career.
Well, this room as it stands currently is not good enough, plain and simple. Even if Javonte Williams is ready for week one, there's no guarantee he'll be back to 100% given how serious his injury was. The Broncos don't pick until the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and while it is a deep running back class, again, there's just no guarantee that a rookie draft pick will perform at a needed level.
In my opinion, there is so much uncertainty with the running back position that I feel the best choice here is to sign someone else. There are some quality names left on the market including Ezekiel Elliott, Leonard Fournette, Jerick McKinnon, and others.
If the Broncos are going to be a run-first team which has been all but said out loud, there's no reason to not fill the RB room with a ton of quality talent.
Both Jones Jr and Crockett may not even be on the final roster, so in reality, Perine is the only NFL-caliber back that Denver has right now. That's a scary thought to me. I do believe that they will add to this position in the 2023 NFL Draft, but I also think they need to look to the free agent market once more.