The Denver Broncos did have something special brewing in the backfield for over half the 2025 NFL Season, but after J.K. Dobbins went down with a foot injury, that strength suddenly turned into a huge, glaring weakness, unfortunately.
And to add insult to injury, quarterback Bo Nix really began to heat up near the end of the season, despite the rushing attack being inefficient. Had Dobbins not gotten hurt, that Broncos offense would have peaked at the right time, and Denver surely could have won it all.
In the offseason, it was rather obvious that the Broncos were going to address the running back room. Unsurprisingly, the team re-signed Dobbins on a two-year deal, but perhaps unpopularly, they re-signed Tyler Badie and Jaleel McLaughlin, but after adding Jonah Coleman in the 2026 NFL Draft, the room suddenly looks a lot stronger and might even be a strength.
Denver Broncos updated running back room suddenly looks like a huge strength
You really can't deny how much more solid the team's running back room looks, and while all five will not make the final roster, adding Coleman to the mix really boosts this room up:
J.K. Dobbins
RJ Harvey
Jonah Coleman
Jaleel McLaughlin
Tyler Badie
The interesting thing here is that the Broncos initially kept all four of the incumbent running backs on the 53-man roster, but at the time, fullback Michael Burton hurt his hamstring and was ruled out, so the Broncos fullback was essentiallty Nate Adkins.
What is clearly different this year is that Adam Prentice is back as the fullback after replacing Burton, so it's worth wondering if the team would then keep three running backs plus Prentice on the roster, as it could be quite hard for Adkins to crack the final roster due to the additions of Justin Joly and Dallen Bentley.
So, it's possible that a future running back room looks like Dobbins, Harvey, Coleman, and Prentice. Adding another back into the room, and one who does project nicely in the NFL, is going to benefit the entire offense, especially Dobbins.
Dobbins clearly can't take a hold of RB1, bell-cow duties due to his injury history. Adding Coleman to the mix does give the Broncos an avenue to shave a few carries off Dobbins' workload, while also still giving Harvey opportunities.
This might be a legitimate scenario where the Broncos have three efficient, playable running backs. That really wasn't the case in 2025, as Badie, the third back, was simply not effective outside of pass protection.
With Coleman, he can do a bit of everything, and if he can prove his efficiency on the ground, there is a shot that he overtakes Harvey in the pecking order, as Coleman's pass protection might already be the strongest on the roster.
No matter how you slice it, though, a three-headed monster of Dobbins, Harvey, and Coleman, really does round this room out and make it a strength. After years of inconsistent play from this group, Denver may finally have found a legitimate solution.
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