J.K.

Dobbins

The 20-carry effort was Dobbins’ first as a Bronco and came after he handled just seven totes in the first half. The Broncos grinded out long second-half drives as they came back from a 17-3 deficit, with Dobbins plunging in for a two-yard score to make it 17-10 early in the fourth. He ceded only seven change-of-pace handles to RJ Harvey, who turned his workload into a modest 30 yards. This setup doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon, keeping Dobbins locked in as a workload-based RB2 ahead of Week 6 against the Jets’ awful defense in London.

Head coach Sean Payton is 38 games into his Broncos tenure and, unbelievably, this is the first time a player has run for more than 100 yards in a game for Payton during that span. Dobbins had made it known that he hoped to be the first player to do so when he faced his former Los Angeles Chargers team last week. He would have accomplished his goal a few plays earlier if the 17-yard gain he picked up on the Broncos’ fourth drive had not been called back due to a penalty. The veteran back looked great this evening, churning through contact on runs up the middle, operating as the Broncos’ lead running back. He also added one reception for four yards. Dobbins remains an RB2 next week against the Eagles.

Harvey again played in the RB2 role behind JK Dobbins, who saw 11 carries, including the goal line work. Harvey now has 18 touches over three games. Tyler Badie continues to mix in on passing downs, furthering limiting Harvey’s involvement. It’s possible Sean Payton and the Broncos will ease Harvey into the offense as the season rolls on. For now, Harvey should remain on fantasy benches.

Dobbins once again functioned as the Broncos’ lead back over rookie RB RJ Harvey. Dobbins handled 11 of the team’s 12 running back rushes, including red zone work. Dobbins had a 41-yard rush in the second half and crept into the end zone for a short score in a sudden offensive burst from the mostly lifeless Denver offense. Though Harvey continues as the team’s preferred pass-catching back, Dobbins is usable as a top-24 weekly option who should continue seeing goal line looks. Dobbins has a prime Week 4 matchup against a soft Bengals front seven.

Dobbins got the requisite workload to return RB2 value despite Broncos head coach Sean Payton employing a three-play rotation at the position. Passing down specialist Tyler Badie was a factor in the high-value two-minute drill, which hurts the other two Broncos backs. Dobbins faces his former team, the Chargers, next week and can be started as a low-end RB2.

McLaughlin has lost his spot on the game day roster to passing game specialist RB Tyler Badie. Broncos head coach Sean Payton and OC Joe Lombardi sang Badie’s praises this week, highlighting his ability to keep Bo Nix upright in pass protection. Badie also earned five targets against the Titans in Week 1. His usage reduces fantasy-scoring projections for Nos. 1 and 2 RBs, J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey. The Broncos also declared LB Dre Greenlaw (quad), DL Sai’vion Jones, OLB Que Robinson, TE Nate Adkins, OT Frank Crum and QB Sam Ehlinger inactive for Week 2 against the Colts.

Badie took 7-of-16 third-down snaps and 6-of-9 two-minute drill snaps against the Titans in Week 1. The usage reduces both J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey’s fantasy-scoring potential, and unfortunately for fantasy managers, it appears as though that usage will hold in Week 2. Broncos head coach Sean Payton believes Badie is “good in the [blitz] pickups” and in the passing game overall. Payton spent “quite a bit of time” preparing for Anarumo’s “exotic looks” on second and particularly third down. Apparently, both Payton and OC Joe Lombardi think Badie is the man for the exotic job, rather than Dobbins, who is known for his pass-pro chops, and Harvey, who was heralded as one of the 2025 rookie class’ top receiving backs. Dobbins can be treated as a high-end RB3/FLEX while Harvey can be viewed as a borderline RB3/4. Badie is only a floor-based FLEX option in very deep PPR leagues.

“It’s one of those day-afters where you look back and say, ‘Alright, let’s look at how we really wanted to start that game and get those two runners going,’ because we think we’ve really improved in that area,” Payton continued. Bo Nix didn’t do much with the added volume and Denver eventually wound up rushing for five yards a carry against the Titans. It sounds like the Broncos could employ a more run-heavy approach against the Colts in Week 2, which should help J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey in fantasy football.

It was JK Dobbins who led the Denver backfield with 16 carries, but it was Harvey in his NFL debut who ripped off a 50-yard scamper in the third quarter — the longest play of the day for the Broncos offense. Harvey ran 14 routes on the day, trailing Dobbins’ 27 routes. Tyler Badie, meanwhile, logged 13 routes and saw six targets. Dobbins was the trusted option who saw all the fourth quarter totes for the Broncos. Harvey could be a while away from taking on a fantasy-friendly workload as long as Dobbins is healthy. Harvey should probably remain on fantasy benches in Week 2 against the Colts.

Dobbins had a comfortable lead as the Broncos’ primary rusher, with 16 totes to just six for RJ Harvey, who was phased out of the offense in the second half in favor of the wily veteran. Dobbins didn’t do much with his opportunity — he averaged 3.9 yards per rush — but managed a fourth quarter touchdown after slipping a tackle at the line of scrimmage. The score put the game away against a lifeless Tennessee offense. Harvey led the backfield in pass routes (14) but drew just one target from Bo Nix. Tyler Badie, weirdly, led the Denver backfield with 14 pass routes and was targeted on a stunning seven of those routes, ending with two catches for 16 yards. Dobbins, meanwhile, logged 14 routes and had two targets. The Broncos backfield is more muddled than anyone could have guessed, but for now Dobbins appears to be the lead guy. He’ll be a top-24 option next week against the Colts.