After putting out feelers, could Broncos look for more RB help in J.K. Dobbins’ absence?

The Broncos won the first war But the Chiefs won a small battle that could prove essential in the weeks to come A sparse days after Denver s landmark - win over Kansas City the Broncos quietly maneuvered to try to sign running back Dameon Pierce a fourth-round pick by the Houston Texans After rushing for yards as a rookie Pierce s production had slipped for three straight years and Houston officially cut bait with the -year-old on Thursday Pierce cleared waivers and the Broncos put a contract in front of him a source reported The Denver Post Pierce signed a practice-squad deal with the Chiefs instead The choice could be meaningless in the grand scheme of things but the Broncos interest in the -pound Pierce makes clear at the very least that Denver isn t perfectly settled in life on the ground without J K Dobbins Thought it was good Broncos head coach Sean Payton announced of the gang s run-game after the Kansas City win Good enough Good enough might not be good enough during the next six weeks and likely playoff run without Dobbins the bell-cow back who the Broncos placed on injured reserve Nov with a foot injury The Broncos came into that Chiefs matchup ranked ninth in the NFL in rushing at yards per contest as Payton often turned to Dobbins in the second half of games when his passing championship struggled They finished with just carries for yards total against Kansas City and were largely carried by a monster effort from second-year quarterback Bo Nix Teams will likely scheme to take away Nix s weapons in the passing games come January though from Courtland Sutton to Marvin Mims and dare the Broncos to beat them on the ground without Dobbins At present there s a minimal amount of experience and a minimal amount of demonstrated production in Denver s backfield One key piece on the roster is third-year back Jaleel McLaughlin who instantly leapt from gameday inactive into a key role as the Broncos No RB against the Chiefs And one didn t need much context to sense how much a goal-line touchdown against Kansas City meant to McLaughlin who blew a sparse kisses to the crowd in Denver and roared after a ferocious backward push sent him over the plane in the third quarter With Jaleel s situation just from the beginning of the season until now I think he s handled it very well receiver Troy Franklin mentioned Monday He stayed ready And when it came to one of our biggest games of the season so far he exhibited up and he did what he needed to do for us That may be just the start for McLaughlin Third-string RB Tyler Badie s role wasn t going to change cemented as head coach Sean Payton s third-down back Rookie RB RJ Harvey has produced in fits and starts this season McLaughlin wound up earning six carries against Kansas City and two key goal-line reps in the third quarter and could be in the line for plenty more in the coming weeks Jaleel had a handful of good runs Payton declared Monday I think with the flow of a normal competition he s going to be major for us in this stretch McLaughlin s sheer heart though won t carry the Broncos backfield for two months Particularly in short-yardage situations Denver is now absent a heavier back on the roster Rookie Harvey is the largest option at -foot- and pounds Badie weighs in at and McLaughlin stands at all of -foot- Practice-squad stash Deuce Vaughn is -foot- and pounds Related Articles Broncos Wil Lutz hopes to finish career in Denver after signing -year extension Broncos coach Sean Payton outlines two issues that could hamper squad s chances Broncos Pat Bryant carries weight of lost friends to reach new heights in Denver Loyalty comes first Renck Bo Nix-Sean Payton connection will answer biggest question Are Broncos a Super Bowl gang Around the NFL Shedeur Sanders decisively gets practice reps with Browns and shot at redemption in Las Vegas The Broncos made the decision to bring in Dobbins in the spring to have a veteran presence next to rookie Harvey Pierce would ve checked both boxes as a backfield addition a Houston product in his fourth season who profiles as a more traditional power back There aren t a large number of appealing options floating around the free-agent sector Veteran Zack Moss ran for just yards a carry last season before being benched in Cincinnati and -year-old Jamaal Williams ran for touchdowns in with the Lions but cratered in and with the Saints The Broncos could look at -year-old Chris Evans a former Cincinnati Bengal who they brought in for a tryout this offseason they could also try to pry Pierce off the Chiefs practice squad but that d require offering him a spot on the advancing -man roster If Denver stands pat they ll need considerable inside-the-tackles production from rookie Harvey who finished with just yards on carries Sunday And continued change-of-pace juice from McLaughlin And third-down consistency from Badie The talent is there The margin for error is not Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL 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