Both Backfield Starters Are Down, and Tyler Badie Is What's Left

RJ Harvey is out. J.K. Dobbins is Questionable. That's the entire running back room, in two injury tags. What's behind them on the depth chart is Tyler Badie and Cody Schrader — neither of whom logged meaningful carries in 2025. Badie appeared in 18 games last season primarily as a pass-catcher, and Schrader hasn't shown up in any production accounting at all. This was the depth problem I flagged when Dobbins went Questionable on Monday — it just got confirmed rather than avoided.

Dobbins rushed for 772 yards in only 10 games last season before his availability became an issue, which tells you both how good he is and how fragile this situation has always been. Harvey added 597 rushing yards in a complementary role that made the backfield functional as a unit. With both of them compromised at the same time, Denver is essentially asking Badie to be something he hasn't been asked to be before.

The roster analysis flagged no viable depth behind Dobbins at running back well before Week 1. That was a preseason concern. It is now a Week 2 game-plan problem, and my read is that Sean Payton is going to have to lean heavily on the passing game and hope the offensive line can manufacture enough structure to keep drives alive. There is no quick fix here — the practice squad options are what they are, and nothing in recent news suggests a move is coming.