The Denver Broncos running back rotation in 2024 was a lot more like a baseball lineup searching for any sort of solution that would work than it was a true committee of backs. Similar to a baseball manager struggling to find the winning formula with his lineup, Sean Payton was struggling weekly in the 2024 season to find anything sustainable at running back, hoping that someone would seize the RB1 role at any point.
It never happened.
The Broncos appear poised to make a much more concerted effort in 2025 to give guys opportunities with longer stretches of the workload than week-to-week, and the top player benefitting from that early on might be 2024 5th-round pick Audric Estimé.
Sean Payton seemingly vows to give Audric Estimé touches in 2025
“Year 2 for him. Just running style and his physicality, the things that got him drafted. The things that we saw. [It was] a little bit harder for him last year—for a handful of these guys. I don’t want to say the grade was incomplete, but they just didn’t have enough [touches]. He’s a back that requires enough touches. He’s going to get those opportunities.”
- Sean Payton (via Broncos PR; emphasis added)
Payton seemingly vows here to give Estimé more touches in the 2025 season.
Estimé is a physical back who can wear down a defense the more carries he get. He had over 900 yards after contact in his final season at Notre Dame. Although backs in the NFL have to be effective with what's given to them, the Broncos' lack of true commitment to the running game last season stymied the ability of the team to actually give Estimé extended touches.
Part of that is situational, but part of that also definitely falls on Sean Payton for not sticking with the running game. One specific instance would be last year's debacle on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers.
A commitment not only to the running game in 2025 but also to the running backs themselves should help take a Denver Broncos offense that was way too inefficient for how much potential they showed throughout the season.
Payton's preemptive commitment to Estimé is a promise of vision execution, which should be exciting for Broncos fans who have watched the team sadly spin its wheels the last two years with Javonte Williams and his ineffective, inefficient running. Hopefully, the early confidence in Estimé will have a snowball effect and the Broncos' running game can take a huge leap forward in 2025.