Broncos head into Cardinals preseason game with plenty of questions remaining at running back

DENVER — “We don’t know yet.”

If you’re looking for an answer as to who will be the Denver Broncos’ RB3 behind J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey, the two runners who receive the lion’s share of the handoffs from Bo Nix during training camp, you don’t have it right now, and Sean Payton’s words Thursday reaffirmed that.

The sentiment was no different than what he shared earlier in training camp as the competition among Jaleel McLaughlin, Tyler Badie, Audric Estimé and Blake Watson began to percolate. All four runners had their flashes last Saturday against the San Francisco 49ers, although McLaughlin’s most dynamic moment got wiped out by a downfield penalty against Pat Bryant.

Still, the play he made — breaking an open-field tackle — was the type of move he failed to make often last year, and a product of the additional muscle he added in the offseason, when he bulked up to 199 pounds. And as Payton noted when asked about McLaughlin this week, the Broncos’ data collected during practice shows that the third-year running back’s speed and quickness appear to have been maintained at the higher weight.

But that’s only part of the decision-making equation.

“The OTAs give you mental alerts, receiving alerts, but I said this to you all — and here’s the deal: You’re right where I’m at, and we don’t know yet,” Payton said.

“And if you recall, at the start of training camp, I said, ‘We’re all gonna know,’ and I hopefully am gonna be right, but we all don’t know. And it’s still a very competitive spot.”

Practices can only reveal but so much. Payton has cautioned that preseason games carry additional weight because those are the only days with tackling to the ground.

“And so, certainly if the drill is a drill where you can be tackled, that elevates a little bit the running-back position because it’s hard to measure some of the gains out here (in practice),” he said.

“So, the games factor in a little bit more, when you’re able to break a tackle or that type of thing.”

And then there is the special-teams role. The No. 3 running back ideally should be a factor in that phase of the game.

“And then look, if it’s really close, is there one that does something better in the kicking game?” Payton said.

“… We’re not there yet, but the good news is we still have 10, 11 days. And hopefully we can get there and we’ll all know.”

But at the moment, the only answer is this: “We don’t know.”

 

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But that’s not the only spot where we don’t know.

BRONCOS HAVE SOME INTERESTING COMPETITIONS AT SAFETY, DEFENSIVE LINE

Special teams may matter at running back, but it WILL matter at safety; Payton has said so. On Saturday night, the work in that phase for Sam Franklin, JL Skinner, Keidron Smith, Devon Key and Delarrin Turner-Yell will be worth monitoring.

Broncos special-teams coordinator Darren Rizzi identified Skinner as a “core-four” special-teamer when asked about him on Wednesday, and his aggression comes in handy in that phase. But Franklin was signed in April for his capability in that area of the game, too.

There’s also the reserve presence of P.J. Locke, who no longer appears to have a major special-teams role as he looks to return from spinal-fusion surgery. If the Broncos release Locke, they would save $4,190,000 of cap space with $1 million of dead money, per Over the Cap.

Another position battle worth watching is on the Broncos’ defensive line.

With the addition of third-round pick Sai’Vion Jones to the mix, suddenly last year’s No. 5 and 6 defensive linemen, Jordan Jackson and Enyi Uwazurike, found themselves in competition for a roster spot.

Typically, teams with 3-4 alignments keep six defensive linemen on the 53-player roster.

But Jackson has enjoyed a strong camp — with arguably his best day coming during the joint practice against the San Francisco 49ers on Aug. 7 — and the Broncos may find themselves with a difficult call if the Broncos bypass going heavy up front.

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