J.K. Dobbins - 2025 Fantasy Football Sleepers and Undervalued Draft Picks

J.K. Dobbins is a fantasy football sleeper and undervalued draft pick for 2025. Read the fantasy football outlook and draft advice for the Denver Broncos running back.

RotoBaller Ranking (half-PPR): RB38

Fantasy Draft Analysis: J.K. Dobbins looked great last season for the Chargers after playing in just nine games the previous three years.

Multiple knee injuries and an Achilles tear can be a death sentence for running backs, but not Dobbins. He looked rejuvenated, and Jim Harbaugh rewarded him with a 64.7% opportunity share and 36 red zone touches in just 12 full games in 2024.

JK DOBBINS. GO-AHEAD TD WITH 18 SECONDS LEFT.

📺: #CINvsLAC on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/ou4r33q38K

— NFL (@NFL) November 18, 2024

Before Dobbins signed with Denver this spring, the Broncos didn't have a legitimate veteran presence in the running back room. With Javonte Williams gone to Dallas, it was only rookie RJ Harvey, third-year scat back Jaleel McLaughlin, and second-year bruiser Audric Estime.

With just McLaughlin and Estime on the roster leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft, it was a given that Payton would draft a running back. That's exactly what he did, taking the UCF product with the 60th overall pick.

But Payton and company wanted a guy who could be a sounding board for the youngsters. That guy was Dobbins, and it sounds like he could be much more than just a "veteran presence" in 2025. Broncos Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph talked about Dobbins' quickness, power, and intelligence on third down, referring to him as a "three-down back."

Joseph knows his stuff, as PFF gave Dobbins the fourth-highest pass-blocking grade among running backs in 2024 (69.6). Right behind Dobbins in that category was Williams (68.4). Despite Williams struggling to run the football last season, Payton still had him on the field for 54% of the snaps, which led to a 46.4% opportunity share.

Harvey, on the other hand, was graded as one of the worst pass-blocking running backs in college football last season (21.8). Payton will be able to trust Dobbins in many more situations than he'll be able to trust Harvey, especially early in the season before Harvey has the chance to prove himself with live reps.

It's for that reason that Richie Carni and other Denver beat reporters believe it'll be Dobbins getting the first crack at a feature role in the offense come Week 1. If he runs hot, like he did in Los Angeles last season, it's going to be hard for Payton to take Dobbins off the field in 2025. That makes him one of the most undervalued RBs on the board today.

- Adam Koffler

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