ESPN Got It Wrong About Broncos' Worst Offseason Move

The Denver Broncos' offseason, for the most part, was void of any big-time moves outside of their blockbuster trade to acquire wide receiver Jaylen Waddle from the Miami Dolphins.

They brought back most of their key pieces on both sides of the ball, and after a 14-3 regular season and AFC Championship appearance, you can't blame them. The Broncos are confident in what this current core has to offer, and will be looking for an even better season in 2026 than the one they just came off of.

However, even while a quiet few months on the Broncos' behalf, there was one roster move made that wasn't looked too highly upon by ESPN analyst Seth Walder in his recent batch of offseason grades.

And while time will tell just how the Broncos' offseason pans out once everyone's on the field, he might've missed the mark for this particular take.

J.K. Dobbins Deal Deemed Broncos' Worst Offseason Move?

In Walder's offseason evaluation for the Broncos, he graded them with a solid "B." Nothing too high, nothing too low, but feels pretty fair considering the front office's approach of retaining a proven, successful core.

But when it came to outlining the Broncos' worst move of the offseason, he circled Denver's new two-year deal for J.K. Dobbins as their most questionable.

"After getting oh-so-close to the Super Bowl in 2025 -- you could argue that Bo Nix's postseason ankle injury was the reason they didn't make it -- the Broncos made a few tweaks but mostly return the same squad for the 2026 season," Walder wrote. "The team also re-signed Dobbins on a two-year, $16 million contract with $8 million guaranteed -- an overpay for an injury-prone 27-year-old back."

Sure, there's no doubt that Dobbins has been one to miss a good bit of time throughout his NFL career.

Since 2022, he's missed a total of 36 games between his time with the Broncos, LA Chargers, and Baltimore Ravens, coming out to missing over half of his possible games played. And as he'll turn 28 years old this coming season, there's a chance those injury woes persist further.

Nov 6, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins (27) in the fourth quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

At the same time, you can't argue with his production when he is healthy and on the field, especially during his most recent campaign in Denver. And that's why re-signing him was a much better move than deciding to let him walk.

Why Dobbins Deserves More Respect

In just 10 games played, Dobbins logged 153 carries for 772 yards and four touchdowns as the lead runner in the room, coming out as nearly the same 15 carries per game that he saw in 2024 with the Chargers, but notably more efficient in those opportunities, eclipsing 77 rushing yards a game.

When he is on the field, he's a great presence to have behind Bo Nix, who possesses solid size and can stabilize this rushing attack in a way that balances out the offense in a major way.

As good as R.J. Harvey and Jonah Coleman might be next season, Dobbins is unquestionably the RB1 leading the way, and this scoring attack is better with him being a part of it.

Sure, an AAV of $8 million might be a little steep for the Broncos to pay out Dobbins' way. But that value makes him just barely a top-20 highest-paid player at his position. And in the event things don't go well this year, Denver can sever ties with him next summer, and only incur $2 million in dead money, saving $8 million against the cap in the process.

Bottom Line

So while risk might be attached to Dobbins simply due to his recent history in the league, the Broncos were right to bring him back.

The team had the cap flexibility to do so. He was a key part of last year's offensive success. He’ll be able to easily showcase just why Denver made the right call in letting him run it back for the next two seasons, rather than letting it be their worst move of the offseason altogether.

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