The Denver Broncos running back room didn’t meet the expectations needed in 2024 and it’s prompted the question as to whether or not the room could look entirely different in 2025.
Denver Broncos RB room didn’t meet expectations in 2024
The Denver Broncos rushing offense in 2024 struggled to generate any rhythm, and that’s putting it lightly. It was hard to watch this season because the rushing attack either wasn’t productive or the offense didn’t stick with it enough to threaten opposing defenses.
Denver’s leading rusher was Javonte Williams, who had 513 yards on the ground. Jaleel McLaughlin was the only bright spot at the position, finishing with 496 yards on the ground and averaging 4.4 yards per carry. Rookie running back Audric Estime had some flashes last season, but he went on short-term IR early on in the season and then was surprisingly inactive for Denver’s first playoff game in nine years after seeing an increased workload in the final games leading up to it.
Bo Nix, the Broncos franchise quarterback, was their offense. Not only did he have a productive season as a passer, but he also led the Broncos in rushing in nearly 1/3 of their games this season. That speaks to some of the issues Denver had running the ball.
How can Broncos RB room excel in 2025?
This is one of the biggest questions heading into the offseason. In order for the Broncos running back room to excel, they may have to overhaul the room and adapt the scheme.
Javonte Williams is the only running back who will be an unrestricted free agent and early signs suggest that the team is likely to part ways with him this offseason. That leaves Jaleel McLaughlin, Audric Estime, Tyler Badie, and Blake Watson as the backs on the roster.
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McLaughlin seems like the safest bet as a roster lock, while Estime is a rookie and will continue to develop. The team was impressed and loved what they saw from Badie this season before he suffered a scary back injury in Week 4. Watson has special traits that head coach Sean Payton would like to continue to develop.
So, does Denver stay the status quo with the entire room minus Williams or do they look to add to the room? There are a handful of free agents that could draw interest, like Nick Chubb, Jordan Mason, AJ Dillon, Ty Johnson, and Kareem Hunt, or they could look to the NFL Draft, where many fans in Broncos Country are warm to the idea of Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty.
Running back is a need for Denver, but is it their biggest need? That can be argued.
So, how can the scheme evolve in a way that helps the run game excel more? The offensive line needs to pull more — in 2024, we hardly saw Ben Powers or Quinn Meinerz pull to open things up in the outside run game.
Much of what they did came out of a zone blocking scheme, where the offensive line identified the nearest dangerous threat, double-teamed them, and moved up to the second level to attack the play side linebacker or safety, depending on where the run was going. At times, the backs didn’t always see the holes that closed up.
While the scheme will benefit from adding more wrinkles to it, having a dynamic back is going to be the biggest key to pushing the run game forward and helping elevate the offense even further for Bo Nix in his second season. How they plan to improve here is going to be one of the biggest keys to follow in the offseason.