Payton Reveals Which Two RBs Will Carry the 'Boatload' for Broncos

The Denver Broncos have a nice collection of talent at running back this season, but who will carry the bult of the burden moving forward?

Sep 7, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins (27) receives a hand off from quarterback Bo Nix (10) during the second half at Empower Field at Mile High. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Three games into the season, the Denver Broncos have to be happy about what they've seen from veteran running back J.K. Dobbins. Signed at the end of June, Dobbins stepped foot at Broncos HQ as the No. 1 running back, and immediately began asserting himself as a leader.

That leadership has also been reflected in his production. Through three games, Dobbins leads the team with 222 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 41 carries (5.4 average).

Dobbins has scored in each contest thus far, and if he manages to score on the ground on Monday night vs. the Cincinnati Bengals, he'll become only the second running back in Broncos history to do so in each of the first four games of the season.

On Thursday, Broncos head coach Sean Payton shared his thoughts on the early Dobbins returns.

“I love the leadership, the focus. I said this, I think, earlier. Sometimes when you sign a free agent, you kind of know what you’re getting with the runner, but all the other things that came were a bonus," Payton said of Dobbins. "He is explosive. He’s decisive. He’s downhill. He’s powerful. He has good balance. So he’s been a real good addition for us.”

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We Harvey Knew Ye

Sep 7, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos running back RJ Harvey (12) rushes the ball against the Tennessee Titans in the second half at Empower Field at Mile High. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Broncos Country would like to see Payton utilize his running back(s) even more. Dobbins carried only 11 times vs. the Los Angeles Chargers last week, rushing for 83 yards, while rookie second-rounder RJ Harvey only garnered two runs for two yards.

Harvey hasn't been featured much in the Broncos' ground attack thus far, but Payton has been trying to work him into the passing game as a budding 'Joker' type weapon. The returns have been nothing to write about, but it's still early, and Payton is also trying to keep Tyler Badie involved.

“I think what’s hard… I think one of the things—we drafted him [Harvey] because of his running skill set and we knew he could catch the ball," Payton said. "Between he and J.K., we see those guys carrying the boatload of what we’re doing. Then Tyler helps us on third down."

Dobbins is the one actually carrying the load. Payton has seemed a tad reluctant to lean too heavily on his rookie running back. And while the Broncos have tried desperately to assert Badie as the third-down back, he hasn't made many plays.

What About Jaleel?

Jaleel McLaughlin has been a healthy scratch through all three games thus far. Payton has lamented the difficulty of trying to feed four running backs, and based on his inclusion of Badie in his comment above, I doubt that McLaughlin will be dressing for Monday Night Football vs. the Cincinnati Bengals.

Payton's still trying to find the right rotation and balance at running back. But the big obvious takeaway? Dobbins is The Guy™.

"We’ve looked at that," Payton said. "How do we want to split that? I think we have a better feel for it.”

The Dobbins Concern

The risk in leaning too heavily on Dobbins this early is the injury bug. That's been the only thing that's held him back since entering the league as a Baltimore Ravens second-round pick back in 2020.

When he's healthy, Dobbins is one of the most productive running backs in the NFL. Entering this regular season, only one NFL running back had a better yards-per-carry average than Dobbins (since 2020). But he missed 20 games due to injury in the preceding two years in Baltimore and L.A.

All the more reason for the Broncos to get Harvey more involved in the ground game. The rookie showed in the season opener that he's got game-breaking speed, busting off a 50-yard rush vs. the Tennessee Titans.

What's more is that it wasn't a run that Harvey bounced outside; it was an inside carry that saw him follow his blocking through the second level, where he was able to make guys miss and turn the corner.

RJ Harvey should be RB1 for the #Broncos.

pic.twitter.com/kSdRfCoieH

— Zack Kelberman (@KelbermanNFL) September 7, 2025

The Broncos have yet to forge an offensive identity, let alone iron out the kinks in the running back rotation. But compared to last year, one thing is certain: there's a lot more explosive ability in the Broncos' running back stable in 2025, and that will continue to pay dividends as the season marches on.

The Broncos have emerged as one of the NFL's worst early-down teams. Cracking that nut will be crucial to this offense and rushing attack taking off. Suffice it to say, first and second down have been the team's focus in practice this week.

"Everything about our schedule was first and second down," Payton said of the Broncos' practice format this week.