ENGLEWOOD, Colo. \u2014 The roles in the Broncos’ running back room have yet to be decided.<\/p>\n
Denver has a stable of running backs that will compete for snaps, and Head Coach Sean Payton said Wednesday it will be clear when those roles are earned.<\/p>\n
“We’ll see how training camp goes, see how all the carries go,” Payton said. “You know what? When that time comes, you guys are going to know just like I’m going to know. You’re going to see it.”<\/p>\n
What is already clear, though, is the Broncos have added another talented option to their roster in running back J.K. Dobbins.<\/p>\n
“[He’s] another good football player,” Payton said. “We’re interested in those guys.”<\/p>\n
Payton said Dobbins’ running balance and instincts are among the traits that stand out on film, and the sixth-year veteran has proven that ability as he’s averaged north of five yards per carry in his career.<\/p>\n
Dobbins posted nine touchdowns and more than 1,000 yards from scrimmage as he was the runner-up for Comeback Player of the Year honors in 2024, and he ranked fourth in the NFL in percentage of rush attempts that resulted in a gain of at least 10 yards.<\/p>\n
“When a play’s blocked, you want to see that yardage and some [extra],” Payton said. “The good runners, they have a little spaghetti sauce to the recipe that’s important. I don’t want to make comparisons to him because I haven’t been with him long enough, but when you see the consistency, it’s not an accident.”<\/p>\n
Dobbins’ ability was on display last year as he rushed for 96 yards and a score for the Chargers against the Broncos in Denver, and Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph viewed Dobbins as one of the team’s toughest challenges in 2024.<\/p>\n
“He’s a real runner,” Joseph said. “Playing him last year, I thought he was one of the best backs we saw. His quickness, his power he plays with, his intelligence on third down \u2014 he’s a three-down back. That makes it difficult. One-on-one, he was a tough tackle for us. So, I’m happy he’s a Bronco.”<\/p>\n
Dobbins has now relocated within the AFC West, but he said his goals go beyond trying to earn victories over his former team.<\/p>\n
“I’m going to have a chip on my shoulder, of course, but I’m here,” Dobbins said. “I’m worried about winning. I don’t want to just beat the Chargers. I want to go on, and I want to get a ring. I’ve been in the playoffs every year I’ve played. I’m tired of losing in them. That’s my goal, is to bring a Super Bowl to this city and just be a blessing to this community, as well.”<\/p>\n
Dobbins said it was “a no-brainer” to sign with the Broncos, given the team’s defense, quarterback, running back room, offensive line and coaching staff. And while he’s battled injuries in his career \u2014 including in 2021 and 2023 when he suffered season-ending ailments in the preseason and Week 1, respectively \u2014 he said it’s in his nature to battle back.<\/p>\n
“I’m just wired a way where I can’t give up,” Dobbins said. “I don’t know how to give up. I don’t know how to lay down. So that was the reason why I was able to come back from those injuries.”<\/p>\n
In Denver, Dobbins will join who he called “a special player” in RJ Harvey, as well as several other talented options. Offensive Coordinator Joe Lombardi said Denver felt good about the team’s depth before signing Dobbins, but he also acknowledged the additional value his signing can bring.<\/p>\n
“It’s exciting,” Lombardi said. “That’s a guy that’s had a lot of success in his career and someone we’ve always had a lot of respect for. Just adds talent and competition to that room. Obviously, he’s been a very productive runner. He’s a good pass protector. I think it’s going to help the competition in that room and help the team.”<\/p>\n
So while the roles may not yet be determined, there’s little doubt about the quality of player Denver has added to its running back corps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ENGLEWOOD, Colo. \u2014 The roles in the Broncos’ running back room have yet to be decided. Denver has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":122496,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2062],"tags":[1010,232,231,258,2426,7,601,6,1004],"class_list":{"0":"post-122495","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-denver-broncos","8":"tag-aric-dilalla","9":"tag-broncos","10":"tag-denver","11":"tag-denver-broncos","12":"tag-denverbroncos","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-j-k-dobbins","15":"tag-nfl","16":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114667168971233139","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122495\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}