The Denver Broncos have a problem at running back that’s much different from the problems they had at the position one year ago at this time.
In 2025, the problem for the Broncos was a lack of talent. They literally had no one they could rely on. In 2026, they have to be worried about talent walking out the door, which could very well happen with veteran running back J.K. Dobbins.
Bleacher Report predicts Dobbins will leave in free agency to sign with the Atlanta Falcons after playing in 2025 on a 1-year, $2.065 million contract with the Broncos.
“Dobbins could fill the No. 2 spot in the Atlanta Falcons’ backfield if they lose Tyler Allgeier and/or are looking for a ball-carrier to complement Bijan Robinson,” Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton wrote. “Robinson has finished in the top three leaguewide in touches in back-to-back seasons. The Falcons will need someone to spell him if Allgeier signs elsewhere in free agency. As an undrafted rookie, Nathan Carter is still unproven with only nine carries for 60 yards. Dobbins should endure less wear and tear playing behind Robinson, which could increase his chances of playing through a full campaign.”
While Dobbins is projected to have an open market value of a 2-year deal in the range of $5 million, it’s much more likely he’ll be playing on a 1-year deal again in 2026 due to injury issues.
Dobbins Missing When Broncos Needed Him Most
That Dobbins might be gone after one year won’t be the worse thing. Dobbins missed the final 7 games of the season due to a foot injury.
He was also out for 2 playoff games, including a snow-filled, 10-7 home loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game where the Broncos were in desperate need of a running back.
The injury situation for Dobbins ended up being pretty on brand for a player who has missed 54 regular-season games over the first 6 seasons of his career and played just 9 games in a 3-year stretch from 2021 to 2023.
Headed for 1,000-Yard Season Before Injury
Dobbins was on pace to become the team’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2019, with 772 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns through 10 games and averaged a robust 5.0 yards per carry.
Before the injury, Dobbins represented a pretty robust return on investment for the Broncos, who signed him to a 1-year, $2 million contract on June 10.
With Dobbins and rookie second round pick RJ Harvey, the Broncos have gone from having arguably the NFL’s worst rushing attack in 2024 to having one of its best with Dobbins and Harvey both healthy.
Denver has still been formidable with just Harvey, who rushed for over 1,400 yards in each of his final 2 seasons at UCF and had 896 yards from scrimmage and 12 total touchdowns in 2025.
As long as he’s healthy, it would be difficult to envision the Broncos not having RJ Harvey as the featured back in 2026.
Harvey, a 2nd round pick in the 2025 NFL draft out of UCF, put up 896 yards of total offense and scored 12 touchdowns as a rookie in just 7 starts after Dobbins went down with an injury.