Explosive runs and the Denver Broncos run game in 2025

TL;DR

In 2025, the Denver Broncos running backs achieved 23 explosive runs out of 329 carries, slightly above the league average. The definition of an explosive run varied, but it generally referred to runs gaining 12 yards or more.

Key points

Broncos RBs had 23 explosive runs in 2025.
Explosive runs defined as gaining 12 yards or more.
Broncos' explosive run rate was 7.0%, near league average.
Top explosive run leaders included RJ Harvey and J.K. Dobbins.

Denver Broncos

DENVER, COLORADO - JANUARY 25: RJ Harvey #12 of the Denver Broncos runs the ball during the first quarter of the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots at Empower Field At Mile High on January 25, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images) | Getty Images According to Sumersports.com, Denver Broncos running backs had 23 explosive runs in 2025 on 329 carries. This was 7.0% of their carries which was about league average in 2025 (6.8%). Of course we first need to explain what an explosive run in is for them. Some sites defined it as a run that gains 10 yards or more, while others say 12 yards or more. Sumer actually goes with runs that were in the top 10th percentile of yards gained. This of course can vary from year to year. In 2025 there were 14166 non-kneel runs that gained 64094 yards. There were 1104 runs that gained 12 yards or more in 2025. So 7.8% overall (6.8% from RBs). The 10th percentile of all runs gained 12 or more yards. So for 2025 Sumersports defined an explosive run as a run that gained 12 yards. Those 1104 runs gained a total of 21945 yards or 19.9 YPC. That was 34% of all the actual rushing yards in the NFL in 2025. For the Broncos, the RBs had 23, Bo Nix had 13, Marvin Mims, and Adam Prentice each had one. (QBs have a much easier time getting explosive runs because long scrambles happen much more frequently than long runs from non-QBs.) So let’s see how our RBs compared to other teams in terms of explosive runs. The two best teams were the Ravens and the Dolphins with more than 10% of their RB runs being explosive runs. The Chiefs had the lowest rate of explosive RB runs in 2025 with a paltry 3.2%, which is why they spent big money on (who had a lower explosive run rate than JK Dobbins. In terms of play type, Bronco RBs got 11 explosive runs on 148 zone runs (7.4%), 7 on 88 gap runs (8.0%) and 5 on 93 duo runs (5.4%). The general consensus is that negative, short, and intermediate runs are all attributed to the OL while the long/explosive runs are almost completely on the runner. Since these runs generally occur when the runner makes a defender miss or breaks a tackle (unless you have terrible ILBs who take poor angles), they get attributed to the RB. As we will see later, some times the play is blocked so well that long runs ARE a function of the OL. In terms of our RBs, J.K. Dobbins had 17 explosive runs, RJ Harvey had four, and had three. had zero (admittedly on eight carries). Harvey’s lack of explosive runs was disappointing since he had a host of them in his final college season. He carried the ball 146 times for the Broncos in 2025 and had four explosive runs – 2.7% – those are shown below. That explosive % was one of the worst in the league – only , Michael Carter and were worse among RBs. The RB the Broncos let go, , had two explosive runs on 46 carries – 4.3%, but it’s hard to know if and explosive run was a great effort by the RB, or terrible play by the defense without rewatching both. With a minimum of 20 actual runs, the explosive runs leaders were all QBs. The best RB in the league for explosive runs was – 10 of his 63 carries were explosive runs. Looking at Harvey’s four plays (for which highlights are freely available) is informative.

Q&A

How many explosive runs did the Denver Broncos have in 2025?

The Denver Broncos running backs had 23 explosive runs in 2025.

What is considered an explosive run in the NFL?

An explosive run is typically defined as a run that gains 12 yards or more, according to Sumersports.

How did the Broncos' explosive run rate compare to other NFL teams in 2025?

The Broncos' explosive run rate of 7.0% was around league average, while the Ravens and Dolphins exceeded 10%.

Who were the top explosive run leaders among Broncos players in 2025?

RJ Harvey led the Broncos with four explosive runs, while J.K. Dobbins had 17 explosive runs in total.