Broncos Risk Missing Out on RB1 Safety Net Still Available in FA

In the NFL, it's better to have and not need than need and not have. Hello, J.K. Dobbins.

Chad Jensen | Mar 24, 2025

Jan 5, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Los Angeles Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins (27) carries the ball against the Las Vegas Raiders in the second half at Allegiant Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos have taken some big steps forward this offseason, mostly capitalizing on what free agency had to offer. Multiple needs have been filled, but a glance across the roster and one glaring vulnerability jumps out: running back.

All signs point to the Broncos leveraging a deep running back class in the 2025 NFL draft to plug this hole. However, as deep as the class may be, the draft is unpredictable, if anything, which is why the Broncos would be remiss to not add a veteran long before April.

Javonte Williams may have produced lackluster stats as a starter the past two years, but he had what no other guy on Denver's roster does: experience. When Williams took his talents to Dallas, the Broncos were left with a massive hole to fill in the running back stable.

One name remains on the free-agent market whom the Broncos could likely add on the relative cheap. Former Los Angeles Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins is still floating around out there.

A former 2020 second-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens, Dobbins had a one-year stint with the Chargers. Injuries caused Dobbins to under-deliver on his second-round pedigree in Baltimore, but under Jim Harbaugh, he appeared in 13 games with 11 starts, rushing for a career-high 905 yards and nine touchdowns with 32 receptions for 153 yards.

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That's a high level of production relative to the number of games Dobbins started in L.A., and basically double what Williams did in 17 games. The Broncos have shown a boldness to sign players with an injury jacket, and Dobbins would be no different.

In Sean Payton's proven program of player wellness and sports science, I like the Broncos' odds of being able to keep Dobbins on the field. And when he's on the field, he produces.

Look, a Dobbins signing wouldn't be a final, permanent solution to the Broncos' runnning back woes. Rather, it'd be a veteran hedge to ensure that Bo Nix has a viable ground attack regardless of how the draft plays out for the Broncos.

Signing Dobbins in no way would preclude the Broncos from drafting one or two running backs at the end of April. Remember how bad and inconsistent Denver's ground game was last year?

To forestall even the possibility of a Nix sophomore slump, the Broncos need to allocate some resources to the running back room. We know that will happen, in part, when the draft rolls around, but what if the Broncos miss out on the prospects they've earmarked with starter potential and have to settle for late-round guys of the boom-or-bust ilk?

Like all things, when it comes to the running back position, it's better to have and not need than to need and not have. And as the clear best-available option, Dobbins won't be a free agent forever.

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