INDIANAPOLIS — The Denver Broncos aren’t just scouting players at Lucas Oil Stadium this week; they are hunting for the final pieces to secure a Super Bowl run. General Manager George Paton and Head Coach Sean Payton arrived at the Denver Broncos 2026 NFL Combine meetings with one glaring priority: fix the offensive backfield.
Denver captured the AFC West crown and the No. 1 seed with 14 wins this past season, but the engine seized when it mattered most. Bo Nix suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the divisional round against the Buffalo Bills, largely because he had to carry too much of the rushing burden. You could almost feel the collective gasp in the Mile High altitude when Nix went down. With the new league year opening on March 11, the Broncos must shield their franchise quarterback.
Before looking at the draft, Denver has a massive free-agency dilemma. J.K. Dobbins looked explosive, racking up 772 rushing yards in just 10 games before a devastating foot injury ended his campaign. If Paton lets the veteran walk, Denver is left with RJ Harvey. The 2025 second-round pick punched in 12 total touchdowns as a rookie, but his 3.7 yards per carry average exposed him as more of a versatile third-down weapon than an every-down bruiser.
Right now, the depth chart behind Harvey features replacement-level rotational backs. Denver desperately needs two fresh runners to share the early-down load. This frees Harvey to operate in space and dominate in the red zone without taking constant hits between the tackles.
The 2026 running back class offers incredible value from Day 1 through Day 3. Notre Dame’s Jadarian Price flashes the exact explosive playmaking Payton covets in a true workhorse. If Denver attacks the position early, Price is a name to circle immediately.
Further down the board, Arkansas bruiser Mike Washington Jr. brings heavy contact balance. Meanwhile, the scouting staff is keeping close tabs on Oklahoma’s Jaydn Ott. Despite signing a massive NIL deal to transfer, Ott struggled through an injury-plagued season and was surprisingly snubbed from a Combine invite. Finding the hidden value in players like Ott could define Paton’s draft strategy.
“I can only imagine what this is going to do to fuel him… There’s teams around the league that are fighting to find a guy to play that position, and we’ve found one. That’s the biggest thing, is having a guy who can do that week in and week out.”
— Alex Singleton, Inside Linebacker
Denver will likely sign a veteran back—names like Breece Hall and David Montgomery are hitting the open market—before the draft kicks off in late April. Securing an established runner gives Paton the freedom to take a pure best-player-available approach when Denver is on the clock. But make no mistake: finding reliable bodies to keep Nix upright is the only way the Broncos push past the divisional round in 2026.
