After holding off from casting any free-agent stones and turning to UCF’s RJ Harvey in April’s NFL draft, the Broncos’ backfield plans for 2025 seemed all but set.
Suddenly, a new name may be entering the fray.
Denver is hosting former Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins on a visit Wednesday night and Thursday, a source confirmed to The Denver Post. If eventually signed, the 5-foot-10, 215-pound Dobbins would instantly become a major piece of the Broncos’ backfield. He missed four games midseason with a knee sprain, but finished with 905 yards and nine touchdowns on 195 carries in 2024.
A second-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens in 2020, Dobbins has floated for months as the best option remaining on the free-agent running-back market. In late March at owner’s meetings in Florida, after Denver went quiet on running backs in free agency despite a glaring need, Broncos head coach Sean Payton hinted that staff saw more appealing depth in this year’s draft class.
“I also think we felt like it was a pretty lean year in regards to free agency at that position, just relatively speaking,” Payton said then.
The Broncos have been publicly bullish on Harvey ever since drafted him in the second round out of UCF, a relative public surprise compared to names the organization was linked to pre-draft. Payton said at May’s rookie minicamp that Harvey had “picked up very quickly on what we’re doing,” and asserted the 24-year-old Harvey would play on third down.
Harvey, also, hasn’t officially signed his rookie deal yet with Denver. As of Wednesday, the Broncos have roughly $16 million in cap space for 2025, according to Over The Cap.
Dobbins’ addition would add more clutter to a backfield that’s already swarming with names. 2024 fifth-round pick Audric Estime has seemed poised for a Year Two leap, and Jaleel McLaughlin returns after racking up 113 carries last year. Second-year backs Tyler Badie and Blake Watson will enter training camp vying for touches, too.
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