The Denver Broncos have several things on their offseason to-do list and most of those should focus on making the offense more potent. One of the top aspects to improve in that area will be the running game.
Javonte Williams will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and the team is not expected to bring him back. With Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime being seen more as role players at this moment in time, the team will likely be looking to free agency or the 2025 NFL Draft to bring in a replacement.
Maurice Jones-Drew, who once was a pretty good running back himself and now works as an analyst, recently predicted that the Broncos will sign Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris this offseason.
Broncos predicted to sign Najee Harris in free agency
Harris would be an exciting signing, at least for some fans. The former first-round pick will only be 27 years old when next season kicks off and he is coming off a 1,000-yard season in Pittsburgh. In fact, he’s rushed for at least 1,000 yards and six touchdowns in each of his four seasons in the league and he is a great receiver out of the backfield.
But he wouldn’t come cheap. Spotrac puts a market value on Harris at about $9.2 million per season, which is much more than the Broncos are paying anyone at the position. But Jones-Drew loves the fit. Here’s what he had to say:
“The Broncos haven’t had a 1,000-yard rusher since Phillip Lindsay in 2019.
Harris, meanwhile, became the third player in the past 20 seasons to hit the 1K mark in each of his first four NFL campaigns (joining Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson). Sean Payton’s offense has steadily improved over his first two seasons in Denver, and the future looks bright with Bo Nix at quarterback. What’s missing now is a run game.
Harris is a physical, downhill rusher who consistently breaks tackles. That’s the type of back Payton (and Nix) would welcome.”
This wouldn’t be the worst idea. The draft does have some solid prospects and some of those could be had on day three of the selection process, but Sean Payton should be expected to look at several options to give his quarterback a better, more consistent running game next season. That will only make Nix a better player than what we already saw as a rookie in the long run.
In the same article, Jones-Drew also predicts that Williams will sign with the Chicago Bears.
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