The Denver Broncos beat the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1 of the NFL preseason. Let's predict the team's RB room following this game. What sticks out the most about the RB room is that both Blake Watson and Tyler Badie made the most of their opportunities in Week 1.
However, second-year RB Audric Estime really did not get much going, and it feels like Estime has kind of been disgruntled most of the offseason, given that his role has diminished a bit. The team signed JK Dobbins in free agency in June, but also took RJ Harvey in the 2025 NFL Draft back in April.
Dobbins and Harvey are going to be the top two running backs in this room, but how does the rest of the room look in 2025? Well, we tried to predict the room right here.
Predicting Denver's RB room for 2025 after their preseason victory
The Denver Broncos kept four RBs on the roster in their initial 53-man, and it feels like four is going to be that number again for the 2025 NFL Season. Based on what we just saw from the bulk of the running backs in preseason Week 1 and what we already know, the running back rotation might now look something like this:
JK Dobbins
RJ Harvey
Jaleel McLaughlin
Tyler Badie
Would it be shocking to see Audric Estime not on the final 53-man roster? Honestly, no. He's a second-year player who just has not really had a consistent offseason thus far, and with Tyler Badie making a great impression in Week 1, that momentum continuing through the rest of the preseason could bump the former Notre Dame product off of the roster.
The Denver Broncos could probably get some sort of draft pick back in return if they wanted to trade him. That may also be the best path forward if they can't find a place for him in the room. It also does feel like Jaleel McLaughlin is pretty safe. While he is not a total difference-maker, he is quite quick and can both run and catch passes, so he's a very strong RB3 option for the Denver Broncos, and Tyler Badie could squeeze in as the RB4 for the 2025 Denver Broncos.