Sean Payton Weighs In on Broncos’ Free-Agent RB Plans

The Denver Broncos filled most of their major roster holes in free agency last month. But one glaring need remains.

The Broncos don't have a starting running back after veteran Javonte Williams took a one-year, $3 million deal with the Dallas Cowboys. In what remains of the running back room, the Broncos are stocked to the gills with No. 2 (at best) and No. 3 guys, including Audric Estime, Jaleel McLaughlin, Tyler Badie, and Blake Watson.

To a man, each is unproven. But so would a rookie procured via the NFL draft. So what are the Broncos to do?

Some have advocated for the Broncos to sign one of the top two remaining free-agent running backs — J.K. Dobbins and Nick Chubb — just to have a veteran fail-safe to pair with another player selected in the draft. But at the NFL owners meetings on Monday, Broncos head coach Sean Payton threw cold water on the notion of signing a free-agent running back, and a big reason for it is the stunning depth of the 2025 draft class.

“I think that factors into it," Payton said of the 2025 running back depth of the draft. "I also think we felt like it was a pretty lean year in regards to free agency at that position, just relatively speaking. There is depth in the draft.”

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Unlike 2024, there weren't any shining No. 1 running backs on this year's free-agent market. When the best guy is Najee Harris, it's a down year in free agency, especially when juxtaposed with 2024's class headlined by Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, and Josh Jacobs.

The Broncos will err on the side of the draft. And GM George Paton said on Monday that Denver will "get a running back" in the draft — it's just a question of who and in which round.

“It’s a strong class. There are different flavors throughout the draft. I think you can get a good back in the second round up and all the way to the sixth round," Paton said at the annual league meetings. "That’s how it is. There’s just so many of them. The first and second down power back, you have the change of pace, you have the third down and you have the three down. [There are] not as many three-down backs, but it’s a good class. We’ll get a [running] back in this draft.”

The takeaway? Let not your heart be troubled about the Broncos' lack of a starting running back. They'll draft at least one, and while it will be impossible to say that said back is 'proven' (he'll be a rookie, after all), what the Broncos are searching for is a dynamic player.

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