The Broncos signed J.K. Dobbins on Tuesday afternoon after he was reported to be visiting last week. Dobbins will form a committee with second-round pick R.J. Harvey, while Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime are left to fight for scraps in the Denver backfield. Let’s break down what to expect from Harvey and Dobbins from a fantasy standpoint:
J.K. DOBBINS
- Dobbins was far and away the Chargers’ best back last year, though that says more about Gus Edwards and Kimani Vidal than it does about Dobbins. Still, Dobbins averaged 4.6 yards per carry with a respectable +0.6 Rush Yards Over Expectation per Attempt mark (via NFL Next Gen Stats) and looked like a starting-caliber running back despite his lengthy injury history. Still just 26 years old, Dobbins can be a productive NFL runner in 2025.
- Harvey’s second-round draft capital likely gives him the upper hand over a free-agent running back who couldn’t find a home until mid-June, but Dobbins should easily unseat McLaughlin and Estime for RB2 duties. Estime was in and out of Sean Payton‘s doghouse as a rookie, while McLaughlin was relegated to an early-down change-of-pace role and Javonte Williams handled pass-down duties (and all three Denver RBs were involved on early downs in a messy and unpredictable backfield).
- It’s unclear who the pass-down RB will be in Denver. Harvey was a fine receiver in college but has pass protection concerns — Payton may not trust the rookie on high-leverage pass downs right away — and McLaughlin and Estime weren’t used in that area in 2024. Dobbins did play some on third down for the Chargers last year, but they didn’t have any other option and he’s at an awful 4.5 yards per target for his career. We have Harvey with the highest target share among Broncos RBs right now, but none of them stand out as a premier option, so we’ll see how that battle unfolds.
- Dobbins will slide in with other backup RBs with both a standalone weekly role and a higher-end contingent value ceiling.
R.J. HARVEY
- Harvey was electric during his final season with 6.8 yards per carry and 22 rushing scores, and then he got Round 2 draft capital. As mentioned above, we expect him to lead the Broncos in carries in 2025, but Dobbins is far superior competition than the McLaughlin/Estime combo that was on the roster previously. We lowered Harvey’s workload with Dobbins in town but knocked the McLaughlin/Estime/Tyler Badie trio much harder. Even if Harvey doesn’t have a massive role in Week 1, he’s the most explosive back on this roster, and we expect him to earn more touches as the season progresses.
- If Harvey can win the pass-down role, he’s still in line for a valuable role in what could be a pretty good Denver offense. Still, he’s a rookie whose pass protection was sometimes cited as a weakness coming out of college, so earning Payton and Bo Nix‘s trust in that area is no easy feat. Given the lack of other proven pass-catching RBs on this roster, however, Harvey should get receiving opportunities early, and we still have him leading the backfield in target share.
- Overall, Harvey dropped about a round in our rankings after adding Dobbins to the Broncos’ roster.
