"I don't think any of us are surprised": The Denver Broncos explain why Tyler Badie isn’t a one-hit wonder

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Outside of the Denver Broncos‘ building, few people knew about Tyler Badie 14 days ago.

But thanks to two break-out games, along with a change in the pronunciation of his last name, Denver’s 24-year-old running back has quickly become a fan-favorite.

Inside the Broncos building, Sean Payton and the offensive staff have been excited about the young running back since they joined the team in 2023.

“Tyler’s an interesting story because he was a guy we were really excited about last year and he got hurt in training camp,” Joe Lombardi said after Thursday’s practice in West Virginia wrapped up. “When he got healthy, things were kind of in motion.”

The Broncos stashed Badie on their practice squad last year and, once again, he impressed the team again this year.

“Thought he had a real good camp,” Lombardi said, referring to training camp this year. “We were lucky to keep him after training camp. I think we knew there was going to be a day this season where he was going to be called up and get his opportunities.”

It only took until the second week of the season for Badie to jump onto the scene.

In Week 2, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Badie exploded for a 16-yard run. Despite Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin struggling on the ground, Badie didn’t get another carry the rest of the game.

That changed in Week 3. With Denver’s top two backs still struggling, Badie got a team-high nine carries for a team-high 70 yards, including a season-long 43-yard run.

“I don’t think any of us are surprised at what he did,” Lombardi stated. “He’s a guy that we certainly held in high regard. I was excited when his opportunity came up. I kind of expected him to show out like he did.”

On Wednesday, the Broncos promoted Badie from the practice squad to a permanent member of the team’s 53-man roster, indicating his role could be expanding moving forward.

“I see he makes a quick decision and just hits it as hard as he can and kind of sees what happens,” Quinn Meinerz said about Badie. “That’s what kind of happened on those last couple of plays. The defense was a little bit tired at the end there. It was a hot game. He was just hitting it hard and falling forward.”

Despite only receiving a total of 10 carries on the season, Badie is the leading rusher in the running back room. Badie has 86 rushing yards on an impressive 8.6 yards per carry, while Williams and McLaughlin are each averaging 2.2 yards per carry and only have 52 rushing yards and 40 rushing yards, respectively.

“He’s a guy that we really like,” Lombardi added.

The Broncos aren’t out on Williams and McLaughlin yet.

“Just because the stats are telling you that they’re not gaining a bunch of yards doesn’t all of a sudden mean they’ve turned to crap,” Lombardi said about Williams and McLaughlin. “You just keep handing them the ball and know that we’ll keep getting better, the plan will keep getting better, and we’ll keep blocking better. There big runs are coming.”

While the team isn’t out on Javonte Williams or Jaleel McLaughlin, the Broncos are very much in on Tyler Badie.