The Denver Broncos‘ running back room might not garner many headlines, but they have a healthy amount of depth. Fourth-year back Jaleel McLaughlin’s road to making the roster was destined to be tough, and it just became treacherous after a disappointing performance against the Falcons.
To his credit, McLaughlin reached the end zone on a short five-yard catch-and-run early in the second quarter. Unfortunately, that’s where the positives ended, and the negatives started to pop up. He struggled to find much room from that point onward, and coughed up a fumble that led to the Falcons’ first touchdown of the game late in the third quarter.
BleacherReport’s Moe Moton already highlighted McLaughlin as a potential cut candidate, and he needed to string together a few strong performances to stick around. The odds of that happening just took a massive hit after tonight’s matchup.
“Last offseason, Denver kept four running backs after final roster cuts. If that number holds this year, Jaleel McLaughlin will battle Tyler Badie for the last spot. Badie may have an edge over McLaughlin because of his role on special teams. In 2025, he played 59 percent of the snaps with that unit, while McLaughlin only saw seven percent of the snaps on kick and punt coverage.” Moton wrote.
It’s also worth noting that McLaughlin’s spot hasn’t been safe ever since Jonah Coleman, whom the team selected in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft, began making waves at the start of training camp. The rook made the most of a light workload in his preseason debut.
Jonah Coleman Looked The Part In Preseason Opener
The University of Washington running back packs a much bigger punch than his size (or, more accurately, height) would indicate. Standing at 5’8″, he doesn’t exactly look imposing. He’s rocked up at 220 lbs., though.
His play strength was on full display in Friday night’s game against Atlanta, as he ran hard and bounced off a few tackles with virtually every opportunity he received. Coleman only had four carries, but he made the most of them, finishing with 24 yards on the night.
With JK Dobbins, RJ Harvey, and Coleman firmly entrenched as the top three backs on the depth chart, opportunities on offense beyond them will be extremely limited. Whoever sticks around as RB4 would probably need to make an impact on special teams, where McLaughlin has very little experience throughout his career (he’s played only 97 career snaps on special teams).
McLaughlin Would Find Another Home Relatively Quickly
If the potential impact on offense were the only deciding factor in the RB battle, there’s little doubt that McLaughlin would have the edge over Tyler Badie. Even with his untimely fumble against Atlanta, he’s shown legit flashes over his first three seasons.
He’s also still only 25 years old, and would surely find another opportunity relatively quickly. While he’ll never shoulder a full workload out of a backfield, he has the requisite skills to be a quality change-of-pace option in the right situation.
Unfortunately, that seems destined to be the outcome at this point. It’s become apparent that his precipitous fall from grace in Denver after a highly impressive first two seasons is going to continue.
Previously Promising Broncos RB Might’ve Sealed His Fate Against The Falcons