After a week of deliberation following a highly publicized visit to Denver, the Broncos have added another high-impact name to an already packed backfield.
The club is signing former Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins to a one-year contract, a source confirmed to The Denver Post. The deal has a base value of $2.745 million and $2.5 million in incentives for a total of up to $5.25 million, a source said.
A 2020 second-round pick, Dobbins has struggled with injuries throughout his career but has proven upside when healthy, rushing for 905 yards and nine touchdowns in 13 games in 2024.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton played coy when asked about Dobbins’ signing after Tuesday’s minicamp. The news broke just a minute before his appearance in front of reporters.
“I’m not going to answer to any reports,” Payton said. “I think we’re close.”
They’re more than close, however. In fact, the Broncos’ front office finalized the one-year pact with Dobbins while the team was on the practice field Tuesday, a source said.
Dobbins will join a backfield already teeming with names, as a variety of returners have jockeyed for snaps across OTAs and minicamp. Audric Estime and Jaleel McLaughlin seemed primed for sizeable roles again in 2025, with Tyler Badie and Blake Watson also in contention for a greater slice of the pie.
“They’re gonna get opportunities — I said it earlier, much earlier,” Payton said Tuesday. “I said, look, Audric’s going to get opportunities. We’ve seen Jaleel. But don’t try to figure out the club right now.”
On paper, though, Denver’s primary one-two backfield punch could consist of two newcomers this fall: 2025 second-round pick RJ Harvey and Dobbins. Payton has historically preferred tandems or committees at running back. Both the rookie Harvey and Dobbins can run between the tackles and bounce outside, and Dobbins carries some receiving upside with 32 catches last year for Los Angeles.
The addition carries some risk, as Dobbins averaged just 3.8 yards per carry after the opening weeks of 2024 and has yet to play a full NFL season across three years in Baltimore and last year in Los Angeles. But it’s a low-cost, high-upside signing for the Broncos, who still carry a healthy dosage of cap space with a couple of months before training camp.
Dobbins missed Denver’s Week 16 game against the Chargers last fall but in Week 6 he rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. That was the third-highest individual total the Broncos allowed on the season, trailing only Jonathan Taylor’s 107 — plus one massive, game-altering fumble — in Week 15 for Indianapolis and Kenneth Walker’s 103 for Seattle in Week 1.
“He’s a good back,” Broncos safety Brandon Jones said. “We go back a little bit to high school and college, so I’m very familiar with him as a person and his game.”
Jones and Dobbins overlapped during their Texas high school football careers and they’ve seen each other in the NFL, too.
“He’s one of the running backs that had one of the better rushing games against us last year, so I’m super excited for him to be here,” Jones said.
