Denver Broncos RBs Fantasy Football Impact: J.K. Dobbins, RJ Harvey And More
Fantasy

Denver Broncos RBs Fantasy Football Impact: J.K. Dobbins, RJ Harvey And More

Ian Hartitz breaks down the Denver Broncos RB room, and whether one player can emerge as the lead back out of this committee.

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Say it with us now: We LOVE running back committees! OK, had enough sarcasm? They're the worst, and when you have a head coach with a track record for multiple RBs like Sean Payton, any optimism to find a singular RB leading the Denver Broncos backfield is pretty dim. But there were glimpses last season of RBs having a great majority of carries. Ian Hartitz breaks it down as part of his Denver Broncos Team Preview.

Do any Broncos running backs have a true high-end path to upside?

J.K. Dobbins is back to presumably again lead this backfield, although I'm the only Fantasy Life ranker willing to actually anoint him as RB1 over RJ Harvey. Sure, his two-year, $16 million extension ($8 million guaranteed) isn't exactly Saquon Barkley-level money, but it's also not like Harvey (60th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft) or Jonah Coleman (108th in 2026) have absurdly high draft capital to write home about.

Additionally, Dobbins racked up 164 touches compared to just 75 for Harvey during the first 10 weeks of last season and was considerably more efficient as a rusher (5 vs. 3.7 YPC) along the way. The idea that Dobbins is completely washed is a bit overstated at this point—the man had a faster top ballcarrier speed than Chase Brown and Travis Etienne last season (Next-Gen Stats)!

Ultimately, Dobbins has largely done nothing but efficiently rack up yardage during his career … when healthy enough to be on the field. Overall, he's ranked second, fourth, 16th and most recently fourth in Next-Gen Stats' rush yards over expected per carry in his four career healthy seasons. The troubling injury history is obviously a concern, but Dobbins is still someone capable of making the most out of his opportunities as an early-down specialist.

All that said: Dobbins largely controlled this backfield and made the most out of his opportunities for 10 games last season … and was the RB27 in PPR points per game. A bigger takeover seems unlikely with Harvey expected to (again) eat into most of the pass-down work, while Jonah Coleman does enough of the little things right:

Sean Payton has overseen some special RB seasons over the years, but it's not like his lead back always comes through in fantasy land. In fact, trusting any party involved has largely been a losing proposition during these last three seasons in Denver.

Maybe Harvey improves in Year 2. He did flash as a pass catcher, made some big plays, and Sean Payton handed him 16.2 touches per game in the absence of Dobbins down the stretch. There's "FLEX with benefits" upside here, even if drafters must realize you're likely going to be forced to draft him before the team's actual starting RB.

An RB48 price tag for Coleman feels a bit rich considering he's probably an injury away from being an injury away from having major fantasy relevance. I vastly prefer clearer handcuffs like Isiah Pacheco, Brian Robinson and Tank Bigsby in that range of drafts.

Players Mentioned in this Article

  1. J.K. Dobbins
    J.K.Dobbins
    RBDENDEN
    PPG
    11.0
    Proj
    116.6
  2. RJ Harvey
    RJHarvey
    RBDENDEN
    PPG
    10.5
    Proj
    144.0
  3. JonahColeman
    RBDENDEN
    Proj
    29.4

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