In June, Sean Payton delivered an emphatic message to reporters regarding a sardine-packed running back room: Don’t count.
“Don’t try to figure out the club right now,” the Broncos head coach said. “It’s way too early.”
He was right. The fates of J.K. Dobbins, RJ Harvey, Jaleel McLaughlin, Audric Estime and many others still had months to play out. This is the same head coach who touts the 2007 story of his New Orleans Saints drafting running back Antonio Pittman in the fourth round — and then cutting him for the undrafted Pierre Thomas, who eventually became a Saint staple.