The Denver Broncos need a running back, and there’s all sorts of speculation out there about how they might find one. A lot of it is about signing a pricey free agent, but there are other options, and Nick Kosmider of The Athletic identified one of them as a late-round running back in his recent mock draft.
Let’s start with the in-house possibilities, however. J.K. Dobbins was a bright spot for Denver during the first 10 weeks of the season. He rushed for 772 yards in that span, the fifth-highest total in the league to that point. Then, Dobbins suffered a foot injury that ultimately ended his season. The 27-year-old has been excellent when healthy, averaging 5.2 yards on 582 career carries.
The problem is Dobbins has played in only 47 of a possible 101 games since entering the league as a second-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2020. Dobbins still has more to give and is a good fit with what the Broncos want to do in the run game, but he can’t be the whole plan.
The Broncos need more options to pair with RJ Harvey, who blossomed into a consistent receiving threat as a rookie and flashed big-play potential as a runner, but still has work to do to become a consistent ball carrier.
Enter Nicholas Singleton from Penn State. He’s a polarizing prospect with good physical traits, according to Kosmider, and if the Broncos do decide to run it back with Dobbins, sign a Singleton would provide a strong second option there while adding more speed and explosive ability for a team that clearly needs more playmakers.
Singleton has also been a red-zone threat at Penn State. He found the end zone 54 total times during his four year career, and while his production did dip last year when he became part of a committee with Kaytron Allen, Singleton averaged 5.6 yards per carry during his college career and caught 102 passes in those four seasons.
The reason Singleton is polarizing his due to his boom-or-bust running style. He’s made some long touchdown runs and racked up his share of chunk plays, but Singleton occasionally misses cutback lanes and doesn’t always pick up available yardage.
But that’s exactly what makes him a late-round pick, and he’s a perfect gamble for a team like the Broncos. At 6’ 220 pounds, he brings the size Denver doesn’t have right now, and plenty of teams have found hidden gems with picks like this.