Mile High Report
One of the biggest surprises from the Denver Broncos 30-9 preseason victory over the San Francisco 49ers was how the running back usage played out. I am confident most of us had the depth chart a little different than what we ended up seeing in that game.
The presumptive starter in JK Dobbins had zero carries, but did pick up a reception. It was rookie RJ Harvey who received a lion’s share of the snaps early in the game with the first-team. Head Coach Sean Payton noted that and said the script will likely flip next week where we’ll see more touches for Dobbins.
“We divided up how we’re going to play guys in phases,” Payton said of Harvey’s touches against the 49ers. “He’ll continue to work with the ones. RJ probably had more snaps than [RB J.K.] Dobbins and then next week, we’ll flip it up to seeing some of the other backs.”
With a two-back system, you’ll have games where one guy gets a majority of the touches and sometimes it’ll end up being more equal. That’s just how it goes sometimes. That split wasn’t what was interesting to me. It was seeing both Tyler Badie and Blake Watson for significant snaps ahead of second-year runner Audric Estime. Mane of us would have had him closer up the depth chart backing up Dobbins, but perhaps Payton sees his running back rotation a bit differently.
When asked about the play of the other backs, Payton noted he is trying to ensure they are building a case for each of them.
“I think we’re trying to build cases for all of them,” Payton said after the game. “In fairness to the process, we’re trying to keep giving them opportunities so that the decision can become a little bit easier. It’s difficult right now. We’ll look at all of the film.”
That could explain why Badie and Watson were getting extensive playing time with the second-team. If they have already decided Estime has a spot, then elevating Badie and Watson to compete for the final spot makes a whole lot of sense. Then again, I can’t see Denver rolling with five active guys at the running back position either. Could it be all three are fighting for that final spot?
Payton went on to break down what each of those three guys bring to the table.
“If I went through each of them, they have some strengths,” Payton said. “They do different things. The running style of Audric [Estime] is a little bit more forward, a little heavier. Badie is someone who gives you some versatility and protection. I think Blake has a little bit of home run speed. It’s early still. The key for us, and I’m just talking about those three, is to make sure all of the guys are getting enough reps where it can help us in the end.”
The way he talked here — and I am projecting my own opinion into this analysis — it...
