Broncos HC Sean Payton has indicated recently that he wants to get RB Audric Estime more touches this season than the fifth-round pick got as a rookie.

The Broncos selected UCF RB RJ Harvey in Round 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft. An ACL tear threatened his football career in 2021, but Harvey’s perseverance paid off. Over the past three seasons, he’s totaled 3,789 rushing yards, 720 receiving yards, and 47 total TDs. Though he is under 5’8, Harvey’s home run ability, combined with soft hands and explosion, makes him an intriguing RB at the pro level. His NFL Combine performance only confirmed his dynamic skill set. The UCF notched a 91st percentile broad jump, an 85th percentile vertical, and a 92nd percentile forty-yard dash. Harvey has also been mentioned as an RB favorite of top draft analysts like NFL Media’s Daniel Jeremiah and The Athletic’s Dane Brugler.

The Broncos have been one of the teams most commonly assigned a RB in Round 1 of NFL mock drafts. GM George Paton obviously won't give away what his team plans to do on the first night, but he did confirm that we should expect Denver to select a RB ... at some point.

Broncos RB Jaleel McLaughlin (quad) is not listed on the final injury report and will be back for Saturday's game vs. the Bengals. Denver figures to deploy at least a three-RB committee with McLaughlin, Javonte Williams, and Audric Estime in that one. We'll see if RB Blake Watson stays involved. And WR Marvin Mims has also been getting backfield work lately. It's a RB group to try to avoid in Week 17 fantasy lineups.

Broncos RB Jaleel McLaughlin (quad) was listed as a full participant on Wednesday's practice report. He's on track to return for Saturday's game vs. the Bengals. RB Audric Estime impressed with McLaughlin out last week, but it was McLaughlin who was emerging as the best fantasy bet in Denver's backfield before the quad injury. This is a tough backfield to project in Week 17, making it a situation to avoid in fantasy lineups.

Despite RB Jaleel McLaughlin's absence, the Broncos stuck with a three-man committee backfield in Thursday night's loss to the Chargers. RB Audric Estime led the way with nine carries for 48 yards and a score. But he played just 13 offensive snaps -- 20 fewer than RB Javonte Williams and three more than RB Blake Watson. Williams finished with four carries and a team-high 11 targets, while Watson tallied four carries and two targets. The Broncos even used WR Marvin Mims in the backfield for five snaps.

Broncos RB Tyler Badie (back) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Raiders. We’ll see if rookie RB Blake Watson makes his debut, but RBs Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin figure to handle the vast majority of the backfield work.

The Broncos are sending rookie RB Audric Estime to IR with an ankle injury. The Athletic's Nick Kosmider says only that Estime will "miss at least four games," which makes it sound like a shorter-term issue.

Broncos RB Javonte Williams was one of the least efficient runners in the league last year. He averaged just 3.6 yards per carry and ranked 42nd among 49 qualifiers in NFL Next Gen Stats’ Rush Yards Over Expected Per Attempt. It's certainly worth noting that Williams was returning from an October 2022 multi-ligament knee injury. He was cleared for the start of training camp last summer, but it’s fair to wonder if the knee was still a factor throughout the season.

Broncos HC Sean Payton said recently that his backfield is an open competition heading into the season. "All these guys, they're all competing for different roles, spots," Payton said. "We never put a cap on what they're competing for. I wanna see it. And then we'll go by what we see."