ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Great value, thy name is J.K. Dobbins.
Even if he were to gain not a single yard more in the 2025 regular season, the Broncos would have gotten their money’s worth out of the free-agent pickup, who lingered on the free-agent market for nearly three months until his wait finally ended when the Broncos signed him just before offseason work concluded.
Through eight weeks, only Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor and Buffalo’s James Cook have more rushing yardage than Dobbins’ 634 yards. Only those two backs average more yardage on the ground per game than Dobbins.
He stopped the Broncos’ streak of games without a 100-yard runner, a skein that previously covered Sean Payton’s entire stewardship as head coach.
And now he wants to stay beyond the length of his one-year, $2.065 million contract that is now proving to be a bargain.
Consider this: There are nine running backs with average per-year values of at least $10 million. Another eight sit between $7 and $10 million. They’re getting elite production at a bargain price.
Twenty-three Broncos teammates have higher cap figures than Dobbins. Few have been more crucial in powering the team to its best eight-game start in nine years.
“Far as extension and stuff like that, that doesn’t cross my mind, but me just wanting to be here in Denver, yes,” he said.
“I hope to end my career here and be here for the rest of my time in the NFL. Far as extension and all that, though, I don’t think about that. I don’t really think about that. But, yeah, that would be nice, because I want to be in Denver.
“I love it. I love the fan base. I think the fan base and I have a connection. I love my teammates, and I also love Sean Payton.”
What’s more …
“I love the beautiful mountains, and I love being in altitude now,” Dobbins added.
The smiles come easily for Dobbins when he thinks about his surroundings. He adores his team, his situation, his place. Given what he endured to get here — torn knee ligaments, a ruptured Achilles tendon — his pure joy is justifiable.
So, he’s not thinking about an extension. But he IS thinking about staying in Denver. So … he’s not thinking about a CONTRACT, but he is thinking about a FUTURE in Denver, which, of course, involves signing a contract.
So, it’s on his mind.
But should it be on the Broncos’ minds?
View on Threads
SHOULD THE BRONCOS RUSH TO GET A DEAL DONE WITH DOBBINS?
To be certain, they could get a savings on him by working out a deal now. But it would come with some risk given his history, which is why the Broncos are probably best served by waiting a little while — unless Dobbins was amenable to a contract under similar terms to the one under which he’s playing right now, albeit perhaps with multiple years on it.
There is also is the natural variance of running backs from year to year. Of the 10 runners who led the league in per-game rushing average last season, only half are in the top 10 so far this season.
Of course, includes Dobbins, which is a notch in his favor; he ranked 10th last year with 69.6 rushing yards per game.
When healthy, he is one of the NFL’s most-effective runners. This year has provided a reminder. But he’s averaged at least 4.6 yards per attempt in every season in which he’s had at least 92 carries. When he’s healthy enough to play, he’s productive.
The only question regarding Dobbins has always been availability. It’s the reason why he sat on the market until June, even though the Chargers took the unusual step of applying an unrestricted-free-agent tender to him just after the NFL Draft in late April.
On the surface, a running back who averaged 4.6 yards per rushing attempt, accumulated 1,058 yards from scrimmage and finished second in the Comeback Player of the Year voting should have had a market. But the injuries that led to missing more games (49) than he’d played (41) overshadowed all of his productivity.
Only now, through eight games of this charmed season for Dobbins and the Broncos, has he finally squared that count at 49 games apiece.
When the time comes to chat with Dobbins, the Broncos should be receptive and fair. But also prudent.
They hold the cards. There’s a compelling list of free-agent running backs expected to be headlined by Breece Hall and Kenneth Walker III. And there is never a shortage of draftable talent; unlike tight end, for example, each draft class yields a surfeit of viable runners. The churn doesn’t stop.
The production in games 1-8 feels great. But the Broncos can wait. And unlike at edge rusher — where the price of waiting to re-sign Nik Bonitto could have left them with a contract that had a per-year value at least $10 million higher — the numbers for Dobbins aren’t in the same range.
They can let things play out.
But if things keep going well for Dobbins, he’ll be worth a raise.
YouTube video