Englewood, Colorado – Maybe this is his five seasons in the NFL. Maybe it's an increasingly list of “strong love” coaches he has – including Sean Payton now. But JK Dobbins certainly wants to be the lead for the Denver Broncos this season, and he thinks he is qualified to advance.
He thinks his experience – and more than a few salty critics – helped him crack the code for how to successfully become RB1.
“I mean, a lot of people think that running is when you get the ball, run left, run right or run,” Dobbins said. “It's important, a big part of it, but what's going to make your biggest attack? Well, no, there's a quarterback [protection] What we have to do.
“There is a third place, and now in the league, the third place is huge. How we as backs help BO in this offense [Nix] With the ball, without it is the decisive factor I think. ”
The running game that tries to pull out the Broncos around Nix has been a theme for the team's offseason. Payton has been quick to say throughout training camp that he is as interested in the way the regular season goals are as good as everyone else. At the camp, Dobbins, like most of the first-team attack, followed by rookie RJ Harvey.
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“I think when we spend the first four weeks of the regular season, you guys, myself, will have a better feeling, ‘That’s what we’re seeing right now. It looks positive,” Payton said. “I think it’s going to be really important.”
When the Broncos experienced last season’s report, one area of offensive Fitton said that it was the running game that needed improvement. He specifically said that the team’s back doesn’t always get enough “sauce” for being blocked, and the Broncos don’t have enough explosive big games overall.
Last season, none of the Broncos' top three defenders exceeded 21 yards. (The Knicks actually had over 20 yards in six of the team's 10 runs, while three shots were over 25 yards.) The Broncos' running guards had only 38 runs in total for at least 10 yards. By comparison, Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry and Jahmyr Gibbs Their own.
“We have to be more explosive in that field,” Payton said. “So we first look at ourselves, the plan, whether we do it the way we want it to. Then, we are looking at who we are going to do it with. Obviously, we have some players in the running room and in that field, we are going to make a lot of progress.”
When Denver signed Dobbins for a career-best 905 yards with the charger last season, Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said not only was he one of the toughest runners defending them last season, but his “third roster” intelligence was rare.
Dobbins said he tried to convey a third of what he meant to his young running guard around him.
“You need to worry, we have to read the defense part, we have to know, we have to pick it up,” Dobbins said. “Otherwise the quarterback gets hit and guess what? If you're a runner, who's there and gets hit by the quarterback, you're a guard who doesn't catch the ball.
“It's a very high price. You have to have a mindset' Blitz, anyway, I'm going to protect the quarterback.''
Harvey understands this is a lesson he must learn as soon as possible. In college, he had a lot of goals (576 in the last three seasons) and production (back-to-back 1,400-yard rushing season), but the demand for passing games certainly caught his attention.
“I found a lot of things you're learning right now that you didn't learn in college,” Harvey said. “There's more details. The third fall is very important, moving the chain, protecting the quarterback, going out of the line and getting the first collapses, that's what they need.”
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“I always think my hands are great,” Harvey received 61 passes in college. “It's just the route, the protection, the bigger volume. It's just the technology, keeping it consistent, I know I have to get better at what needs to work.”
Harvey, a former college quarterback, was selected in April’s second round draft, and he showed agility about the loopholes and vision of training camp, which made him one of the most coveted players on Payton’s draft board. He didn't have most offenses in the camp, but Dobbins didn't, but there were a lot of options behind it.
Javonte Williams is the team's 2024 leader (139) and yard (513), signing with the Cowboys at free agents, but Jaleel McLaughlin, Audric Estime, Tyler Badie and Blake Watson are all back. All four Royal Banks played two or fewer seasons in the league.
Payton called McLaughlin the “speed change” of the group. He has two 400-yard sprint seasons and 55 professional receptions. McLaughlin, who was listed at 183 pounds last season, said he is now close to 200 pounds to become more physically without sacrificing his speed.
“This is something I've been doing during the offseason, just trying to find the right spot and hopefully I'm finding my place in Pass Game, and also in the conservation game,” McLaughlin said.[Just] Clean my eyes [in protection]. ”
The Broncos retained only four defenders last September, so it could tightly squeeze the 53-man squad between Estime, Badie and Watson. Payton assured that all supporters will be given a practical and preseason opportunity to state their on-site cases.
Estime had some motivation in the game last season (two touchdowns in the last three regular season games), but he was an inactive game in the playoff loss to Buffalo. Badie's defender (43 yards) had the longest game time on any Broncos, but missed most of the season due to a back injury. Watson got the roster as an undrafted rookie last year, and he played in two games.
Finally, Dobbins is not worried about what the depth chart in Week 1 will look like.
“If you put the beast back there, you'll give him the ball. … But, this group is young and talented, they all have an impact on the ball, they're all beasts. We want each other to be like that.”