Broncos Suggested to Trade for Former Fifth-Round Pick RB

Finding their top running back will be one of the Denver Broncos’ priorities during the 2025 NFL offseason. Heading into training camp, they have six RBs on roster, namely Tyler Badie, Michael Burton, Audric Estime, Jaleel McLaughlin, Blake Watson, and rookie RJ Harvey.

These players should be talented enough for Broncos head coach Sean Payton to finalize their depth chart. However, should Payton need more juice from the backfield, Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport suggested the Broncos trade for fourth-year player Tyler Allgeier.

While Davenport’s article is fantasy football-centric, his suggestion makes sense because Bijan Robinson’s emergence takes away some snaps from the former BYU standout. Likewise, the numbers tell that Allgeier is a viable lead option at running back.

Before the Atlanta Falcons selected Robinson in eighth overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, Allgeier was a 1,000-yard rusher during his rookie season. While he started only seven of 16 games, he finished with 210 carries for 1,035 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Allgeier also added one touchdown out of 139 receiving yards.

With Robinson emerging into an elite RB, Allgeier’s playing time dwindled. As Davenport wrote, “In 2025, Bijan Robinson emerged as a true workhorse for the Falcons—his 365 total touches trailed only Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles. That meant less work than ever for Allgeier—after he quietly surpassed 1,000 yards on the ground as a rookie, Allgeier’s touches have declined every season since.”

As a result, though Tyler Allgeier played in all 34 regular season games in 2023 and 2024, he started in only three games. In two years, he had 1,327 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Worst yet, his carries dropped from 186 in year two to 137 last season.

Allgeier Could Turn Out to Be a One-Year Rental

There are two schools of thought regarding Davenport’s suggestion. First, despite his low use rate with Atlanta, Tyler Allgeier’s talent significantly boosts the Broncos backfield. However, on one end, he could end up being a stopgap running back while the likes of RJ Harvey, Jaleel McLaughlin, and Audric Estime continue to develop.

Davenport quoted his Bleacher Report colleague, Brent Sobleski, who wrote, “Allgeier has no incentive to sign an extension with the Falcons since he could go elsewhere and potentially become a starting option. His workhorse ability is being wasted behind Robinson. The Falcons should be fishing for a Day 2 draft pick from a team that needs a lead back.”

But even then, he has a team-friendly salary that won’t take much of the cap space. Per Spotrac, Allgeier is in the final season of his four-year, $3.9 million rookie scale contact. He will earn a $1.1 million base salary and count for $1,183,474 against the Falcons’ cap in 2025. That’s fantastic value for any team, especially if he reverts to his 2022 form.

PFF Writers Consider this Broncos Unit as their Weak Link

While the Broncos ranked tenth in points per game (25) and Bo Nix finishing sixth in touchdown passes among quarterbacks, Pro Football Focus’ Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick remains unoptimistic about their offense heading into 2025.

As published in their May 29 article, they considered Denver’s offensive weaponry as their weakness, stating, “While the Broncos gave quarterback Bo Nix the highest-graded pass-blocking unit in football (83.5), they didn’t provide ample skill-position weapons. The Broncos earned the fifth-worst PFF receiving grade and the fifth-worst PFF rushing grade in 2024. Denver is hoping the following two players will fix that issue.”

Their skill position players could become invaluable assets, especially if Harvey, Pat Bryant, and Evan Engram meet expectations. If they all pan out, trading for Allgeier is unnecessary.