The Broncos are trying to rebuild their ground game, and the early signs point to a backfield that could be built around more than one answer. New running back Jonah Coleman put it plainly after the draft in April: “You ultimately have a three-headed monster in the run game,” Coleman told reporters after he was drafted in April.
That kind of confidence fits the task in front of Denver. The bigger issue isn’t just who carries the ball - it’s how the Broncos want to run it under new offensive coordinator Davis Webb after last season’s struggles. Sean Payton has already pointed to Webb as a possible solution, and the expectation is that the offense will look different this year.
The numbers from 2025 help explain why change is coming. According to the stats Luca Evans gathered for the Denver Post, Denver finished with the second-lowest percentage of zone runs among all AFC teams at 42%. That’s a long way from the outside-zone identity the Broncos had talked about building.
“I think we’ve always wanted to be kind of an outside zone team,” tight end Adam Trautman said last year in training camp, “and we’re just kind of committing to it.”
But that commitment never really showed up the way Denver wanted. Now the Broncos are trying again, with Coleman part of the mix and the rest of the room fighting to fit the new plan.
Jaleel McLaughlin is one of the players feeling that pressure. His roster spot is now in jeopardy with Coleman in the picture, so he’s spent the offseason trying to get stronger and prove he can handle more work between the tackles.
He described the grind at a charity event in June: “Man, I’ve been out there killing myself in the weight room,” McLaughlin said at a charity event in June. “Spitting up a little bit, throwing up a little bit.
But it’s been amazing, and I’ve been working my tail off.”
Tyler Badie also has a role to fight for, and the staff’s trust in his pass protection gives him a real edge in the competition. Both Badie and McLaughlin beat out former fifth-round pick Audric Estime for roster spots last year, and the three are set to go head to head again when camp opens in a couple of weeks.
In Other News...
Broncos Super Bowl Push Could Hinge On One Risky New Addition
As training camp nears, the Broncos are carrying the kind of expectations that come with a team that thinks it can push into the Super Bowl conversation. Bo Nix is at the center of that pressure after Denver loaded him up with more offensive help, while J.K. Dobbins and Riley Moss are also entering seasons where their roles could say plenty about how high this roster can climb. If the quarterback takes the next step, the offense should look the part. If he doesnt, the questions about whether he is the long-term answer will only get louder.
Dobbins brings a different kind of uncertainty, since his availability has already been a concern and Denver has built in some protection with Jonah Coleman waiting as a possible fallback. Moss, meanwhile, is set to keep living on an island opposite Patrick Surtain II, which means every week can turn into a stress test. For a team trying to turn promise into a real January run, the margin for error is thin, and the Broncos know these are the kinds of players who can swing the season in either direction. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Camp Could Force One More All-In Move
As the Broncos move toward 2026 training camp, the roster has been reshaped in a few important spots, but one area still stands out as a potential problem: inside linebacker. Denver has been active elsewhere this offseason, yet it has not made a major investment there, leaving a clear question about whether the current group is enough for a team trying to keep climbing.
That is why the speculation around a possible all-in trade has picked up steam, especially with Miami in the conversation after the two teams already did business earlier this offseason in the Jaylen Waddle deal. If Denver decides it needs a bigger swing before camp, it would not be hard to see why it would look toward a proven linebacker solution rather than hope the position sorts itself out on its own. [Read more 🡒]