Horse Tracks: The running back room looks a little light

The Denver Broncos need a bigger answer at running back. That answer may already be on the roster

Summarized by AI ⓘ

What is the story about?

With J.K. Dobbins out for the season, the Broncos’ offense has taken a step back in running production. The Broncos’ running back room currently is as follows:

R.J. Harvey 5’8″ 205lbs

Jaleel McLaughlin 5’7″ 187lbs

Tyler Badie 5’8″ 197lbs

The room is a little light. Each of these guys tends to go down on first contact more often than not on inside runs.

In the middle of the season, these boys aren’t going to size up during a bye week, so they are who they are.

Against the Chiefs, it was rough sledding

with a grand total of 2.8 yards per carry for the whole team.

So for Sean Payton, the playcalling of the run game needs to try to get them carries with wide open lanes (hard to force against a good defensive front) or runs to the edge where there is space for these shifty players to make guys miss.

I’m not that worried about any of these guys in short-yardage situations. The line is so good up front that any of them should be able to gain 2 yards on any given run with the bigs out there.

But I do think Payton does have a trick up his sleeve that we may see more of as the season wears on. It is a player who showed absolute dominance as a blocker, picking up blitzes in the last game. He’s also a guy who has been productive in short-yardage situations a few times this season and is able to catch out of the backfield.

I’m just saying, keep an eye on Adam Prentice as the season wears on. Not many people care about the fullback position any longer. That’s not the case in Broncos Country. We love us a good fullback. This coaching staff believes in him as well. The dude got 19 snaps this past week. In the three previous weeks, he only saw 10 snaps. In case you were wondering:

Adam Prentice 6′ 245lbs

Is this the answer to our run game woes?