Broncos' most recent free-agent signing predicted to be a complete flop in Denver

Travis Wakeman

Broncos' most recent free-agent signing predicted to be a complete flop in Denver image

Kirby Lee

The Denver Broncos decided to completely rearrange their running back room this offseason, and it took them some time to do so. 

The team chose not to re-sign Javonte Williams in free agency, and he instead landed with the Dallas Cowboys. Looking to inject some energy into the room, the team selected RJ Harvey out of UCF in the second round. About six weeks later, the Broncos chose to sign veteran running back J.K. Dobbins. 

The combination of Harvey and Dobbins is expected to see the majority of the work out of the backfield this season. 

Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report recently selected the player that will be the biggest bust for each team this coming season, and for the Broncos, he landed on Dobbins. 

"This one's for the fantasy enthusiasts, who should be wary of overdrafting Denver Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins in the coming weeks. While Dobbins did rush for 905 yards last season and signed a modest one-year, $2.7 million deal with Denver this spring, he's a strong candidate to fall short of expectations.

Dobbins has an extensive injury history and missed another four games in 2024. He's also unlikely to hold an every-down role with Jaleel McLaughlin, Audric Estimé and rookie second-round pick RJ Harvey also in the RB room.

Given Sean Payton's tendency to use a backfield committee, it wouldn't be a shock to see Dobbins buried on the depth chart or even with another team by midseason", wrote Knox. 

With another team by midseason? That would sure be something. 

It's easy to point to Dobbins' injury history. Though he performed well for the Chargers last season, the four games he missed while nursing a knee injury was a huge factor in the team choosing not to bring him back for another season, instead turning to Najee Harris, who has never missed a game. 

The Broncos took that into consideration before signing Dobbins and still felt it was the right move to make. His signing could knock either Jaleel McLaughlin or Audric Estime off the roster as well. 

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Travis Wakeman

Travis Wakeman has been covering the NFL since 2012 when he started with Bleacher Report. After reporting about the Broncos there until 2016, he joined the FanSided network as a site expert covering the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers while simultaneously covering the Broncos at Broncos Wire when that site launched. He then took over the Broncos site at FanSided in March 2020 and covered the team there until spring of 2024. A lifelong Broncos fan and fan of the game, Travis is filled with sometimes useless NFL knowledge, but it always serves him well in any trivia contest. You can follow him on Twitter/X @traviswakeman10.