NFL teams typically carry three running backs on the active roster, but the Denver Broncos do not have a typical backfield.
Denver added veteran J.K. Dobbins during free agency this summer, and he appears poised to serve as the RB1a with second-round draft pick RJ Harvey filling the RB1b role. Tyler Badie seems likely to make the 53-man roster as a favorite of coach Sean Payton, and Jaleel McLaughlin was one of the team’s most productive RBs in 2024.
So, will the Broncos carry four running backs on the active roster in 2025?
“We talk about the third quarterback, the fourth tailback,” Payton said last week. “We talk about do you get to the game with six receivers? There are all these, and special teams factor in quite a bit. So there’s the, let’s say, the standard depth and then the exceptions. Because ultimately I’ve said this, the right 53 is so important. So that doesn’t mean we have to constantly follow the model of what we’ve always done. If the fourth tailback is better… So we do go through all of that, and George (Paton) and I — in fact, yesterday went through the next 10-day schedule, 12 days, 13 days we’re at the cutdown. Then we’re signing practice squad players. It’s all part of the equation.
“I would say every year’s a little different. It’s just a little different than any year before. It’s just a little different. It might be because of one guy who plays special teams. Every year is just a little different. I was taught at a young age, the most significant thing is the right 53, so that’s what keeps you up at night, making sure we’re finding that group.”
Payton didn’t directly answer whether or not Denver will carry four RBs, but he did note that some positions are deeper than others, and the team doesn’t follow an exact model every year. So if it makes more sense to carry four RBs this year and cut a player at a different position, the Broncos will do it.
If Dobbins, Harvey, Badie and McLaughlin are Payton’s preferred four, that would leave Audric Estime and Blake Watson looking for jobs after roster cuts next week. We don’t know how things will shake out, though, so all we can do is guess at this point. Stay tuned. Denver has until Aug. 26 to set an initial 53-man roster.
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