Is J.K. Dobbins or RJ Harvey the Starting RB for the Broncos? Who Should You Draft in Fantasy Football? (2026)

July 11, 2026

Is J.K. Dobbins or RJ Harvey the RB1 for the Broncos? Should you draft Harvey or Dobbins in 2026 fantasy football drafts? Aidin's expert draft analysis and advice.

Sean Payton isn't known for feeding one running back, and that trend has continued ever since he took the reins in Denver. In 2023, Javonte Williams shared carries with Jaleel McLaughlin and Samaje Perine, and the same thing happened in 2024, with Audric Estime taking Perine's place.

However, things initially looked to have changed in 2025. With Williams and Estime being replaced by J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey, Payton leaned heavily into using Dobbins early in the season. Dobbins had some impressive performances, but suffered the third season-ending injury of his career, which paved the way for Harvey. Harvey looked promising as the lead back to end the regular season, but failed to replicate his performances in the playoffs. Now, Payton will have to choose between reverting to his old ways or picking one of these two as his feature back.

But is Dobbins or Harvey the RB1 for the Broncos this upcoming season? Which running back should fantasy managers be looking to target in 2026 fantasy football drafts? Let's dive in and find out.

J.K. Dobbins Fantasy Football Outlook

The career of J.K. Dobbins is one of football's saddest tales, but it's also a tale of resilience and determination. Dobbins had an exceptional career at Ohio State, finishing with the second-most rushing yards (4,459) and yards from scrimmage (5,104) in the program's history.

One-handed catch
Stiff arm
Touchdown

JK Dobbins doing it all!

DENvsLAC on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/dSd93bhN9K

— NFL (@NFL) September 21, 2025

Many, including Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta, expected Dobbins to be drafted near the end of the first round. But he fell to the 55th pick and was drafted by the Ravens.

Dobbins had an impressive rookie year, scoring nine touchdowns. However, he couldn't build off that solid foundation as he suffered the first of his many injury setbacks, tearing his ACL before the 2021 season.

That injury kept Dobbins out of action for the entirety of 2021 and more than half of 2022, and his tenure with the Ravens ended brutally with a torn Achilles in the first game of the 2023 season. In his last three years as a Raven, Dobbins only played nine games.

"The only thing people can say is, 'Oh, he gets hurt,' but I'm not injury-prone," Dobbins told ESPN's Jeff Legwold. "I'm not getting injury-prone injuries, I'm getting unfortunate injuries."

Plenty of fans had written Dobbins off, but he bounced back nicely with a career year in 2024 with the Chargers, finishing second in Comeback Player of the Year voting.

Dobbins signed with the Broncos in 2025 free agency and got off to a flying start and was well on his way to a 1,000-yard season, but once again, he suffered a season-ending injury, this time to his foot. But, as Dobbins said, all these injuries are unrelated and are not "injury-prone" injuries.

Despite the injuries, there wasn't much surprise when the Broncos announced they'd be bringing Dobbins back. After all, Dobbins averaged 77.2 rushing yards per game, which would have made him the first 1,000-yard rusher for the Broncos since Phillip Lindsay in 2019.

Additionally, he would have become the first 1,000-yard rusher on a Sean Payton-led team since Mark Ingram II in 2017. Dobbins' list of accomplishments in 2025 doesn't end there.

He had two 100-yard rushing games in 2025, becoming the first Bronco to achieve that feat since Latavius Murray in 2022. His 77.2 rushing yards per game ranks first amongst all Broncos running backs since 2012, and he also ranks first in yards after contact (YAC) for a Broncos RB since 2022 (374 YAC) despite his shortened season.

That 374 YAC number shows that Dobbins is still a highly physical running back despite his injury struggles and is willing to fight for every yard. Unlike RJ Harvey (who we'll get to in a bit), Dobbins is built like a bell-cow RB, but his body not holding up is a major concern.

Dobbins is determined to utilise the Broncos' incredible offensive line, ranked as the NFL's best by PFF at the end of the 2025 season, to reach new heights in 2026.

"What I'm going to show is that last year wasn't a fluke," Dobbins told Luca Evans of The Denver Post. "Like, instead of being No. 3 in the NFL, I'll be No. 1 this year. And there won't be any injuries."

RJ Harvey Fantasy Football Outlook

There weren't many eyes on RJ Harvey before college. Initially a quarterback, he was a three-star recruit and didn't see a realistic chance of being drafted by an NFL team after committing to Virginia.

Bo Nix to RJ Harvey brings the Broncos closer!

DENvsHOU on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/cVvMnJw3VA

— NFL (@NFL) November 2, 2025

So, he transferred to UCF and switched to running back, a decision that would change his life forever. Harvey racked up an outrageous 3,498 yards and 42 touchdowns from scrimmage in his last 25 games at UCF.

His insane production led to him being drafted with the 60th overall pick by the Broncos in 2025, and while many expected him to share the backfield with Dobbins at the start of the season, that didn't happen. Harvey only played in 29.1% of Denver's offensive snaps (per PFR) before Dobbins' injury.

Harvey finally got his chance in Week 11, and from that point to the end of the season, he put up 507 yards from scrimmage and scored six touchdowns in seven games.

Due to his pass-catching prowess, he averaged 15.2 PPR points per game during that span, considerably higher than what Dobbins averaged in 2025 (11.6). Unfortunately, the combination of a shoulder injury and his weaknesses as a pure runner prevented the team from trusting him in the playoffs.

He only got six carries against the Bills' suspect run defense, and while he ran the ball 13 times in the snowy AFC Championship Game against the Patriots, he only managed to get 37 yards on a putrid 2.8 yards per carry. Harvey has now fully recovered from the injury, and Payton is satisfied with him.

"We thought he had a really good rookie year, especially in the passing game," Payton told Broncos reporter Rich Kurtzman during OTAs. "That room has changed quite a bit now, so there’s good competition."

Of course, Payton is referring to the addition of Jonah Coleman through the draft. Coleman is a patient back who is more suited to a bell-cow role, with better running and blocking abilities than Harvey, and is seen as Dobbins' long-term replacement.

If Harvey can't make big improvements as a runner, he will be doomed to a backup spot, initially behind Dobbins and eventually behind Coleman.

Who Should You Draft in Fantasy Football? 

J.K. Dobbins is a better real-life player than a fantasy player. He has never been and will never be an elite PPR running back simply due to his lack of receiving ability. Meanwhile, RJ Harvey is unlikely to have a high snap share unless Dobbins gets injured again.

One (or maybe both) of Jaleel McLaughlin and Tyler Badie will be cut, while the Broncos will likely take their time with the 22-year-old Jonah Coleman as a long-term investment (dynasty sleeper alert).

It is worth noting that Sean Payton will no longer call plays for the team, as Davis Webb, who has never called plays before at any level, will take over play-calling duties.

Despite Denver's incredible offensive line, this feels like a backfield to stay away from in fantasy. Both players are ranked quite similarly in our PPR rankings, with Dobbins as the RB31 and Harvey as the RB35.

Despite his injury history, Dobbins is the high-floor, low-ceiling choice, though Harvey is worth rostering in best ball formats.

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