Jonah Coleman arrived in Denver with a specific job description: bring size, bring power, and make the Broncos better at running back. Early on, that’s exactly the kind of impression he’s making.
The rookie is pushing into a backfield that already had a hierarchy of sorts last season, even if it didn’t deliver the production Sean Payton wanted. Coleman is now part of the fight to reshape that room, and in the process he’s putting Payton’s old line about three backs under the microscope.
“I think it’s a good problem to have,” Payton said Thursday when he was asked by Luca Evans of the Denver Post if he still believes in his own adage. “I know you can feature two.
I think three is difficult sometimes. But I’m not worried about that right now.
Just - let’s go, and these guys are all competing for their spots.”
Running backs coach Lou Ayeni didn’t fully buy into that view. He said he found specific jobs for RJ Harvey, Jaleel McLaughlin and Tyler Badie, especially once lead back J.K. Dobbins was lost to a foot injury.
"Listen, if you’re a good player, we’ll find a way to use you," Ayeni said this weekend. "Like, yeah, I understand what coach is saying about - I don’t know if it’s about featuring them, or putting them all in the right position to help us win games. I think that’s what we’ll do with those guys.”
Coleman, listed at 220 pounds, gives Denver a different kind of presence. The Broncos liked him not just for the physical element, but also for what he can do in pass protection, and Ayeni sees a player who can help in the passing game, too.
"You just see a guy who doesn’t get rattled," Ayeni said on Coleman. "He can solve problems on the field.
He’s a quick processor. And there’s just no panic in his game.
There’s a lot of little savviness to him, for a rookie. Which is kind of hard to - usually, you grow into that.
And he’s already got it.
“And I think the biggest thing for me with him is, like, man, he’s a lot better route-runner than you think. Got a little more quickness than you think.
Better hands than you think. He’s just a good football player.”
That kind of competition is exactly what’s changing the feel of the room. Each back is being pushed in different ways, and the Broncos are getting a better look at how the position can function. With new offensive coordinator Davis Webb working to find fresh ways to deploy them, the preseason games will go a long way toward showing who can handle which role.
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