Rookie running back Jonah Coleman enjoyed a highly impressive training camp for the Denver Broncos. The team’s fourth-round selection had the local media buzzing on a near-daily basis.
The hype train picked up some speed after an impressive performance in the preseason opener against the Falcons. While he finished the contest with only four attempts, he certainly made the most of them, finishing a few carries with authority.
Many believe that the University of Washington product could carve out a productive role in the Broncos’ backfield rotation early on in his career. ESPN’s Dan Graziano is firmly stationed on that bandwagon, as he chose to highlight Coleman when making his bold predictions for every NFL team ahead of the 2026 NFL season. Specifically, he predicted the rookie running back could come up huge for fantasy managers down the home stretch of the season.
“The Broncos believe Coleman to be a perfect fit for Sean Payton’s offense. They drafted him in the fourth round this year, even after taking RJ Harvey in the second round last year and bringing back J.K. Dobbins in free agency,” Graziano wrote. “Dobbins will be the starting running back, but he carries a significant history of injury. The belief here is that Coleman will overtake Harvey on the depth chart early in the season and is the top choice to step in as the lead guy if Dobbins has to miss games. The Broncos see Coleman as a pro-ready pass protector whose running style is similar to that of Dobbins.”
Jonah Coleman Is The Early Favorite For The NFL’s Best Offensive Draft Bargain
Graziano isn’t the only member of the national media who has taken note of Coleman’s hot start in Denver. In NFL.com’s annual NFL Honors Awards predictions article, writer Gennaro Filice named Coleman as his top pick to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award this season.
The interesting thing about that prediction is that Coleman was the only player selected on day three of the draft to receive any votes. In fact, he was the only runner-up who was selected beyond the first pick in the second round. We’ve seen countless running backs significantly outplay their draft position as the position has become greatly devalued in recent years. Filice clearly thinks Coleman could be the next one to follow that trajectory.
He’s not alone, either. Some who got an up-close view of Broncos’ camp echoed a similar sentiment. The Denver Post’s Sean Keeler recently called him one of the biggest steals in the class.
“Fourth round? $885,000 base salary? $1.19 millon cap hit? For the guy who’s been arguably the Broncos’ best runner in camp since they put pads on? Bargain of the draft,” Keeler wrote. “It wasn’t just smart to draft Coleman out of the University of Washington. It was borderline genius.”
J.K. Dobbins’ Health Will Be Important To Monitor
While there’s no denying Coleman’s talent, it’s also difficult to gauge how much playing time he will get early on in Denver’s loaded backfield. J.K. Dobbins has always been a quality contributor whenever he’s been healthy throughout his career. RJ Harvey is also a rock-solid pass-catcher out of the backfield.
However, Dobbins has missed 54 out of 101 possible games throughout his career. Aside from his rookie campaign, he’s never proven capable of staying healthy for an entire season.
If Dobbins gets hurt this season, that’s where Coleman will have a real chance to introduce himself to the rest of the NFL in a big way. Harvey failed to make the most of his opportunity when the veteran missed eight games down the stretch last season.
While he impressively reached the end zone 12 times, he only averaged 3.7 yards per carry in the process. That was despite playing behind Denver’s elite offensive line. If an injury strikes, Coleman should be able to fare much better with a bigger piece of the pie. In fact, Dobbins might not get his job back if that hypothetical comes to fruition.
Broncos’ Jonah Coleman Already Getting Offensive Rookie of the Year Buzz