The Denver Broncos spent much of their offseason trying to preserve what worked in 2025, and that approach extended well beyond the headline-grabbing addition of Jaylen Waddle to the receiver room. For a team coming off a 14-win season, continuity was the theme.
That is why Denver chose to bring back J.K. Dobbins on a two-year, $16 million deal with $8 million guaranteed.
The move drew plenty of skepticism at the time, and it has continued to face questions since. The concerns are easy to understand: Dobbins has dealt with injuries throughout his NFL career, and the Broncos committed real money to a veteran who finished last season with a season-ending foot injury in 2025. He has played less than half of his available games over the past four seasons, and at 27, there is still uncertainty about whether those issues will follow him again.
Still, the Broncos had a clear reason to keep him. When Dobbins was on the field in Denver last season, he was productive. In 10 healthy games, he piled up more than 800 all-purpose yards and scored four touchdowns while averaging 5.0 yards per carry, his best mark since 2022.
That kind of production matters because of how he fits with R.J. Harvey.
Dobbins gives Denver a strong ground-game presence, while Harvey can continue to handle his role in the passing game. The pairing lets each back do what he does best, and it would have been difficult for the Broncos to find a comparable runner on the open market at a similar price.
The contract itself also looks reasonable when stacked against the market. Dobbins’ $8 million average annual value ties him for 18th among NFL running backs. It matches what Dallas Cowboys’ Javonte Williams and Chicago Bears’ D’Andre Swift are making, and comes in below veterans like Houston Texans’ David Montgomery and Carolina Panthers’ Chuba Hubbard.
If Dobbins stays healthy, the deal could look even better for Denver. At 27, there is not much reason to expect a sharp decline, especially with the Broncos’ offensive line in front of him. The real test will be whether he can remain available long enough to top 13 games for the first time since his rookie season.
That is where the Broncos’ bet will be judged. If Dobbins can stay on the field, Denver may end up viewing this as a smart move to keep its rushing attack steady. If he does, the contract could wind up looking like a bargain.
In Other News...
Sean Payton Just Entered The Broncos Stadium Debate
Sean Payton stepped into the grass-versus-turf conversation around the Broncos future home, and he did it with the kind of practical lens you would expect from a coach who has spent years thinking about footing, wear and tear and how the game actually plays. He said there are real differences in football depending on the surface and even the footwear, and he also made clear that more stadiums seem likely to land on grass where they can.
The complication, of course, is that not every building makes that easy. Payton pointed to the logistical hurdles of putting grass into covered stadiums, which is where the debate gets less philosophical and more operational for Denver as it looks ahead to its new place in 2030. For the Broncos, the field itself is not just a football choice but a money question too, with maintenance costs part of the calculation as the stadium plans continue to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
ESPN Just Gave Broncos Fans Another Reason To Be Furious Over Garett Bolles
For Broncos fans, Garett Bolles has become one of the more frustrating names in the league because the rsum keeps getting better while the national respect never seems to fully catch up. ESPNs latest ranking of the top 10 NFL tackles for 2026 put the Denver left tackle at No. 10, a spot that lands just after a season in which he earned first-team All-Pro honors, started all 17 games and gave up only five sacks while posting a 94% pass block win rate.
The ranking also reopened an old argument about how much value voters place on Bolles beyond pass protection, with some still viewing him as limited enough to cap his ceiling in these kinds of lists. For a player who has been so steady and so important to Denvers offense, the debate is less about whether he belongs in the conversation and more about why it still feels like he has to keep proving it. [Read more 🡒]
Garrett Bolles Is Finally Getting National Respect But One Doubt Remains
Garrett Bolles has spent enough seasons in Denver that his name no longer comes attached to the old questions about whether he could become a dependable left tackle. Now, after an All-Pro season and another year of steady growth under Sean Payton, he is starting to get the kind of national recognition that usually follows sustained play, not just one good stretch. Jeremy Fowlers latest ESPN positional list put Bolles 10th among tackles, his first appearance on one of these rankings, which says plenty about how far his game has come.
Bolles has earned that respect with his pass protection, and there are people around the league who view him as one of the most consistent in that area. Still, the conversation around him is not finished, because the same evaluation that lifts him up also leaves room for debate about how complete his game really is. For the Broncos, that makes Bolles an easy player to appreciate and a harder one to fully settle on, even as his profile keeps rising. [Read more 🡒]