From now up until April 24, fans will be jumping into the shoes of Denver Broncos GM George Paton with speculation, predictions, and mock drafts galore. Undoubtedly, Paton’s bold free-agent moves have opened several doors as it relates to the forthcoming NFL draft.
Even so, the critical need to find a new starting running back remains at the top of the Broncos front office’s to-do list. The general consensus is that Paton and Co. will opt to use their first-round pick on a dynamic tailback to start behind second-year quarterback Bo Nix.
In some quarters, the sheer depth of the 2025 running back class has led to an alternative belief forming: perhaps it would be more asset-friendly to wait things out and roll the dice on picking up a game-changer later in the draft process.
ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. explored the plethora of backfield options during a visit with Denver Sports‘ Andrew Mason, and it provided plenty of food for thought.
“Dylan Sampson from Tennessee, I think, is a guy to look at there. I’m a LeQuint Allen guy at Syracuse. To me, the way he played this year was as exciting to watch as anybody playing college football. The way he smelled the goal line, the way they moved him outside, he caught passes. Could be a wide receiver, I believe, in the NFL as well. Ran hard. People say, ‘Well, the long speed’s the question mark.’ But I think he’s an interesting guy,” Kiper told Mason in reference to mid-round or later-round running backs.”
Kiper went on to emphasize that this draft class’ depth should allow teams to find difference-makers of all shapes and sizes, so the directive is to go “find your guy.”
“I think LeQuint Allen from Syracuse, like I said, Dylan Sampson, Tennessee. RJ Harvey at UCF. I think Cam Skattebo can be a guy you look at around the third or fourth-round area as well. The running back position is really deep,” Kiper told Mason. “Find your guy. Listen, I got 31 (RBs) with draftable grades. And some of these guys I’ve mentioned, even Kaleb Johnson from Iowa, after running in the 4.57 (second) range, could drop just a bit. Some people were talking about him as—I’m talking about in the league that I had conversations with—he could go maybe late, sneak into the late first, early second, maybe he drops down just a bit.”
Kiper closed by highlighting Ohio State’s running back duo as the first guys to look at beyond Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty and North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton.
“So after Jeanty and Hampton, then [Quinshon] Judkins and [TreVeyon] Henderson, the two Ohio State kids are also in that mix. [Trevor] Etienne from Georgia,” Kiper said. “So there is, like I said, there are a lot of running backs that are going to go anywhere between the second and fifth round.”
When head coach Sean Payton straight out announces what positions he’s been looking at in the draft, it’s a bit of a tell. When Payton sat down with Kay Adams ahead of the Super Bowl, he loosened up more than a little bit in what he was willing to reveal, and we already know that the Broncos spent time with 10 running backs at the NFL Combine.
It’s not a matter of if but when the Broncos will make their move to draft a new ball carrier to put behind Nix. Meanwhile, there’s enough talent remaining in the free-agent pool for the Broncos to throw other teams off their scent. For example, 26-year-old J.K. Dobbins could be a nifty addition to help build the nest, and he wouldn’t break the bank at this stage.
Failing that, Kiper’s assessment that bonafide talents like Sampson, Allen, and Skattebo might be available on Day 3 of the draft might make the Broncos more inclined to double-dip at running back.
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