ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Maybe it's the five seasons he has been in the NFL. Maybe it's the grind back from injuries or the growing list of "tough love" coaches he has had -- a list that now includes Sean Payton. But J.K. Dobbins certainly wants to be the Denver Broncos' lead back this season, and he believes he's qualified for that job.
He thinks his experience -- and more than a few salty critiques -- have helped him crack the code for how to succeed as an RB1.
"I mean, a lot of people think running back is you get the ball, run left, run right or run through the middle," Dobbins said. "And that's important, a big part of it, but is it what will get you the most snaps in this offense? Well, no, there's a quarterback [protection] thing we've got to do.
"There's third down, and right now in the league, third down is huge. And in this offense, how we as backs do your job to help Bo [Nix] with the ball, protect Bo without it, is what will be the deciding factor I think."
The attempt to pump up the Broncos' running game around Nix has been a constant theme of the team's offseason. Payton has been quick to say throughout training camp that he's just as interested as everyone else in how the regular-season carries will shake out. At camp, Dobbins has taken the majority of snaps with the first-team offense, followed closely by rookie RJ Harvey.
"I think when we get through those first four weeks of the regular season, you guys, myself included, will all have a better feel for, 'This is what we're seeing now. It looks positive,'" Payton said. "I think that's something that will be real important."
When the Broncos went through last season's debrief, one of the areas of the offense Payton said needed improvement was the run game. In particular, he said the team's backs didn't always get enough "sauce" with what was blocked, and the Broncos didn't have enough explosive big-play runs overall.
None of the Broncos' top three running backs last season had a run over 21 yards. (Nix actually had six of the team's 10 runs of more than 20 yards and two of the three runs over 25 yards.) The Broncos' running backs combined for only 38 carries of at least 10 yards. By contrast, Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry and Jahmyr Gibbs had at least 41 runs of at least 10 yards on their own.
"We have to be more explosive in that area," Payton said. "So we first look at ourselves, the scheme and are we doing it the way we want to. Then we're looking at who are we asking to do it with. Obviously, we've added some players in the running back room, and we're going to be much improved in that area."
When Denver signed Dobbins, who rushed for a career-best 905 yards last season with the Chargers, Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said he was not only one of the toughest runners for them to defend last season, but also that his "third-down intelligence" was rare.
Dobbins said he has tried to convey how much third down means to the younger running backs who surround him.
"You've got blitzes to worry about, we have to read that part of the defense, we have to know and we have to pick it up," Dobbins said. "Otherwise the quarterback is getting hit and guess what? If you're a running back who's in there and gets the quarterback hit, you're a running back who isn't getting the ball.
"It's a big price tag. You have to have the mentality 'A blitz ain't getting by me, no matter what, I'm going to protect the quarterback.'"
Harvey understands this is a lesson he must learn as soon as possible. He had plenty of carries (576 over his past three seasons) and production (back-to-back 1,400-yard rushing seasons) in college, but the demands of the passing game have certainly caught his attention.
"I've discovered a lot of things you're learning now you didn't learn in college," Harvey said. "The detail is just way more. And that third down is extremely important, move the chains, protect the quarterback, get out in your routes and get the first downs, that's what they need."
"I always felt like I had great hands," Harvey -- who caught 61 passes in college -- added. "It's just the routes, protections, a bigger volume. It's just technique, being consistent, and I know I got to be better at the things that need work."
Harvey, a former college quarterback the Broncos selected in the second round of April's draft, has shown quickness to the hole and vision in training camp -- the skills that made him one of the most coveted players on the draft board for Payton. He has taken the majority of carries with the starting offense in camp that Dobbins has not, but there's a crowded pool of options behind him.
Javonte Williams, the team's 2024 leader in carries (139) and yards (513), signed with the Cowboys in free agency, but Jaleel McLaughlin, Audric Estime, Tyler Badie and Blake Watson are all back. All four RBs have played two or fewer seasons in the league.
Payton has referred to McLaughlin as the "change of pace" back of the group the most; he has two 400-yard rushing seasons to go with 55 career receptions. McLaughlin, who was listed at 183 pounds last season, said he is closer to 200 pounds now in an effort to be more physical without sacrificing his speed.
"That's something I've been working on in the offseason, just trying to find the right spots and be where they want me to be at in the pass game, also in protection," McLaughlin said. "[Just] cleaning my eyes up [in protection]."
The Broncos kept only four running backs last September, so it could be a tight squeeze among Estime, Badie and Watson to find spots on the 53-man roster. Payton has promised all of the backs will get the opportunity in practice and the preseason to state their on-field cases.
Estime had some momentum down the stretch last season (two touchdowns in the final three regular-season games), but he was a game-day inactive in the playoff loss to Buffalo. Badie had the longest run of any Broncos back (43 yards) but missed most of the season with a back injury. And Watson, who made the roster last year as an undrafted rookie, played in just two games.
In the end, Dobbins isn't too worried about what the depth chart will look like by Week 1. Instead, he's confident this group as a whole can do some damage this season.
"If you got a beast back there, you're going to give him the ball. ... But that said, this group is young, talented and they all could have impact with the ball, they're all beasts. We want that for each other."