The Denver Broncos have added their playmaker, and J.K. Dobbins teased the new potential of the Broncos offense.
The Denver Broncos finally made the big trade to add a playmaker that fans and experts were clamoring for, and now different players are starting to comment on the addition of receiver Jaylen Waddle. Running back J.K. Dobbins was the latest to weigh in, and he likes the trade a lot more than one of his teammates, receiver/return man Marvin Mims Jr.
“And then we’ve got another guy that just came in, Jaylen Waddle, you know what I’m saying?” Dobbins said in an article by Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk that included comments from the running back’s recent appearance on the NFL Network. “Pick your poison because we’ve got Courtland Sutton, we’ve got the young Pat Bryant, we’ve got a great O-line, we’ve got everything. We’ve got an embarrassment of riches on this team of talent.”
There’s certainly nothing wrong with Dobbins comments, but there are those among the fan base who consider him part of the problem, not the solution. The Broncos had no running game to speak of for much of the season, and even before Dobbins left the lineup due to a Lisfranc foot injury there was nothing scary about Denver’s ground game.
But the Broncos just re-signed Dobbins, and they’re going to be paying him $8 million to try and stay on the field, which has been a struggle for the running back throughout his career. Dobbins has been pushing back hard on the notion that he’s injury prone, making the point that his latest injury occurred on what he felt was an obvious hip-drop tackle against the Houston Texans.
That doesn’t address the opinions of many that Denver needs a bigger back who can run more effectively between the tackles, and that’s not Dobbins. He was very effective on slashing runs up the middle before he got hurt, but the Broncos never really had a go-to back who could help control the clock when Denver had a late lead.
“I’m excited,” Dobbins added. “I really am, because, call it what it is, I got hurt, I missed the last, what, seven games in the regular season. I’m fresh. I’m gonna be fresh and I’m gonna be [expletived] off because I’m tired of the unfortunate stuff. I know that I can do it. It’s gonna happen this year. It’s gonna be great. I ain’t gonna spill too much, I don’t want to spill too many beans, but it’s gonna be great.”
There’s too much football luck involved in all this to justify Dobbins’ level of confidence, and it remains to be seen whether re-signing him is a good idea or not. The Broncos will almost certainly add a big back one way or another, and it will be interesting to see how Dobbins reacts when that happens.