This season is building up to be another proving ground for J.K. Dobbins, as he enters his second season with the Denver Broncos.
Dobbins was a star for the Broncos during the 2025 season; for the 10 games that he was available, that is. However, once he went down, so too did the Broncos’ ground attack, and there is ample reason to believe that being over-reliant on him would be short-sighted.
The Broncos are not planning on that, but he remains their only proven commodity at RB.
J.K. Dobbins Receives Additional Motivational Material
GettyJ.K. Dobbins is facing a big season with the Denver Broncos.
Dobbins rushed for 772 yards and 4 touchdowns on 153 carries for the Broncos last season, and he aimed to return for the Super Bowl, had they made it.
Following his shortened season, Pro Football Focus ranked him 28th heading into 2026.
“Offseason lists are fun but silly exercises,” The Denver Post’s Luca Evans posted on X on July 15. “That being said, I’m theorizing there’s a decent chance this makes it across J.K. Dobbins’ digital desk and subsequently becomes bulletin-board material.”
PFF noted Dobbins’ effectiveness when he was on the field for the Broncos, but his injury history has left a sour taste.
“The story of Dobbins’ career has been both unfortunate and consistent: Productive play stunted by injuries. That was the case again in 2025, when he averaged 5.0 yards per carry and ranked 18th among qualified running backs with an 80.8 PFF rushing grade,” PFF”s Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick wrote on July 8.
“He suffered a season-ending foot injury in Week 10, which severely hampered the Broncos’ run game from that point forward. Despite that, Denver handed Dobbins a fresh two-year contract, displaying its belief in his efficiency when healthy.”
However, despite his certainty about Dobbins, Evans echoed the logic behind the rankings.
He called the Broncos’ re-signing Dobbins the Broncos’ “biggest move,” albeit a “boring” one at a “surprisingly high” price, but also noted the veteran’s injury history.
“History, both old and recent, suggests the 27-year-old Dobbins will run like a top-10 running back in the NFL for anywhere between eight and 15 games and get banged up at some point in the process, as high as he is on himself for 2026.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Dobbins failed to crack ESPN’s poll on the top 10 running backs.
That is voted on by NFL executives, coaches, and scouts. However, he also has yet to appear on the NFL’s Top 100 Players list, as voted on by his peers.
J.K. Dobbins’ Injury History Looms Large for Broncos
GettyDenver Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins is coming off another injury-shortened season.
Dobbins argued that the Lisfranc injury he suffered this past season was a fluke, incurred on what he felt was an illegal hip-drop tackle from former Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman Tyree Wilson, now of the New Orleans Saints.
However, Dobbins has yet to log a full regular-season slate of games in his career.
He has only played in double-digit contests in two of his five other seasons in the NFL. Moreover, he has missed at least nine games three times, including the entire 2021 campaign.
The Broncos attempted to plan accordingly. They selected RJ Harvey in Round 2 of the 2025 draft. They added Jonah Coleman in the fourth round of the 2026 draft after that plan failed to yield the results they wanted.
The Broncos did not add another back of note.
Coleman stands as the Broncos’ only true hope of keeping their ground game on track if Dobbins goes down. That is, unless they decide to add someone else.
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