Payton’s newest transfer exhibits clear offseason focus for Broncos

Sean Payton had loads to construct on after his second season with the Denver Broncos final yr, however there’s one space the place he clearly felt rebuilding was wanted. The group’s newest massive signing is additional proof of that.

Veteran operating again J.Okay. Dobbins agreed to a one-year cope with the Broncos on Tuesday, in accordance with a number of stories. The previous second-round choose will be part of a crowded backfield that has undergone quite a few adjustments in latest months.

Javonte Williams led the Broncos with 513 speeding yards final season. The group made no effort to re-sign Williams, who as an alternative inked a one-year, $3.5M cope with the Dallas Cowboys in free company.

Denver ranked sixteenth within the NFL with 112.2 speeding yards per sport final season. Bo Nix accounted for 430 of these yards, and far of that manufacturing got here by way of scrambles relatively than designed runs. The Broncos rushed for simply 12 touchdowns as a group, which was tied for twenty third within the league.

After letting Williams stroll, the Broncos drafted R.J. Harvey within the second spherical. The previous UCF star rushed for 1,577 yards and 22 touchdowns final season. He’s the favourite to start out in Payton’s backfield in 2025.

Even with Harvey within the combine and Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime returning, the Broncos nonetheless determined to pursue Dobbins. That additional means that Payton is set to have a decent operating sport this season to take some strain off of his second-year quarterback.

Dobbins has battled accidents all through his profession and missed 4 video games with a knee ailment final season. He nonetheless managed to hurry for a career-high 905 yards and 9 touchdowns. If he’s wholesome popping out of coaching camp, he may push for a big position in Denver’s backfield.

By all indications, Payton made a smart funding when he used the twelfth general choose on Nix final season. Among the finest methods to assist a younger quarterback succeed is with an efficient speeding assault. The strikes the Broncos have revamped the previous two months point out they’re aiming to just do that.