Mark Kiszla: Why the Broncos need J.K. Dobbins to be their MVP
J.K. is the way.
While coach Sean Payton admits the Broncos have yet to firmly establish an identity, it’s hidden in plain sight under his stubborn nose.
Waiting for quarterback Bo Nix to grow up is no way for Denver to get back in the playoff hunt.
This team’s MVP is running back J.K. Dobbins.
Yes, I said it before the season.
Now, with Broncos Country in a here-we-go-again tizzy about a 1-2 start to this NFL season, kindly allow me to double down on my belief in Dobbins:
Stay calm, and hand the rock to J.K.
If Dobbins stays healthy, there’s only one thing that can stop Denver from making the playoffs:
The stubbornness of Payton.
One big reason Denver has blown fourth-quarter leads during its two-game losing streak is that Payton can’t seem to decide what team he wants the Broncos to be at winning time.
He gets too engrossed in his play sheet and too cute with personnel groupings to kick butt and take names. And Payton knows it.
“I think this sums it up, is to say, ‘Hey, this is an identity relative to running and throwing the ball. This is our identity,’ “ Payton confessed Thursday. “And I would say we’ve yet to establish that clearly for anyone watching.”
C’mon, coach.
If you’re the football genius, tell me what’s wrong with this picture?
The Broncos rank fifth in the NFL with 5.2 yards per rush. But they stand 20th in the league with 75 rushing attempts in three games.
Nothing against Nix, but it’s time to dial back Denver’s dependency on a young quarterback who’s pressing in a search to regain his mojo.
Dobbins is the answer. He’s a north-south runner who pays an orange-and-blue tribute to the legacy of Terrell Davis.
Dobbins between the tackles. An outside zone blocking scheme often operates counter to what he does best.
While rookie RJ Harvey can spin like a top, Dobbins doesn’t dance.
It shouldn’t have required anyone three regular-season games or his 5.4 yards per carry to realize Dobbins is far and away RB1 on the Broncos.
In addition to being on an early pace to become the first Denver back to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since Phillip Lindsay in 2019, advanced metric wonks far smarter than me insist that the only guy in the league producing explosive runs as frequently as Dobbins is Derrick Henry.
Yes, Dobbins arrived in Colorado with a well-documented and worrisome history of injury.
And fantasy football nerds are screaming into the darkness of the internet that Dobbins’ stock is destined to fall.
Newsflash: Fantasy football is not real life.
If Dobbins goes down, the Broncos won’t go far in the playoffs, or might not even reach 10 victories.
Football is not a game that can be played scared.
Keeping Dobbins rested and healthy should be the primary duty of Harvey as a capable back-up.
The national television date on Monday Night Football against Cincinnati should be the rock-em, sock-em coming out party for Dobbins as the focal point of Denver’s new identity as a bruising team on both sides of the football that opponents will feel in their bones for days after the final gun.
Whether it was Payton, Denver players, or national media doing the drooling, all the breathless praise for the Broncos during the offseason was how this had become Bo Nix’s team.
As a leader, Nix is uncommonly mature and uber-respected for a pro with fewer than two dozen NFL starts on his resume.
But even before his three big, crucial misses on deep balls during a loss to the Chargers made it apparent to everyone, I tried to warn everyone that Nix was not ready to be a prime-time, follow-me-to-the-Super-Bowl quarterback.
He too frequently rushes his progressions, bails on a clean pocket, and unnecessarily throws off platform, as young NFL quarterbacks are apt to do.
Payton tried to make this Denver offense all about Bo.
It was utter nonsense, born of a coach bent on proving how smart he was to pick Nix with the 12th overall selection in the 2024 draft.
The success of this Denver team is built around cornerback Pat Surtain II, edge-rusher Nik Bonitto, and a defense that can do its job to a championship level if Payton will only take a chill pill and commit to playing complementary football.
Way back in June, the Broncos had a pretty good idea that the $5.25 million they offered Dobbins to pry him away as a free agent from their AFC West rival in Los Angeles was money well spent.
The head coach, however, was a little slow on the uptick to realize his most talented offensive player is Dobbins.
“He’s explosive, he’s decisive, he’s downhill, he’s powerful, he’s got good balance,” Payton said.
Well, well, well.
Maybe the light bulb has finally shined some humility into Payton’s thick skull.
Payton and his media minions can still declare this Nix’s team, if it makes them feel smarter.
But this Denver offense will go as far as Dobbins carries it.
