The Broncos may have found a running back who fits Sean Payton’s vision almost too neatly.
Denver used a fourth-round pick on Jonah Coleman, and early buzz around the league suggests he’s already turning heads. In a piece by Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic that highlighted 15 young players drawing attention, evaluators reportedly saw “coach Sean Payton’s fingerprints all over Denver’s fourth-round selection of Coleman.”
That kind of label tends to mean something in Denver, and Coleman’s profile helps explain why. One NFL scout called him “A ‘Sean Payton’ running back,” adding, “Bowling ball, balanced, has vision, compact, efficient, tough. Shades of Mark Ingram?”
The comparison points to a runner built for reliability, but with enough pop to make defenses pay if they miss in space. Ingram’s explosiveness didn’t last forever, yet he became a steady between-the-tackles presence, and Coleman brings a similar blend of size and playmaking potential to an offense that wants to be more versatile and explosive.
There’s also a path for Coleman to matter sooner than later. J.K. Dobbins has already dealt with a small soft-tissue issue in camp, which only adds to the sense that Denver may need another back ready to contribute.
Coleman’s appeal goes beyond power, though. The Broncos reportedly put him through a heavy test on pass protection, drawing on his college experience with the Washington Huskies, and Coleman had every answer they wanted.
“High floor runner, and he certainly showed that immediately in the preseason,” said the NFL executive Rodrigue quoted. “He will be one whose usage and role, over the season, will be fun to track.”
He also gives Denver something its other backs don’t quite provide: size. That could make him useful in short-yardage situations, while his ability to turn a one- or two-yard crease into something bigger only adds to the intrigue.
Of course, the Broncos have plenty of options around him, and there’s still plenty to learn about how new offensive coordinator Davis Webb plans to deploy them. Webb already offered one surprise in Denver’s game against Green Bay, when he lined up RJ Harvey as a receiver. Harvey then cashed it in with a touchdown on an accomplished wheel route as quarterback Bo Nix dropped a 26-yard touchdown pass over the top and into the bucket.
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That kind of cap room does not solve anything on its own, but it does change the conversation around the rosters next wave of decisions. Denver is also projected to carry around $24.78 million into 2027, which means the front office has a path to handle extensions and free-agent planning without immediately painting itself into a corner. The bigger question now is how aggressively the Broncos want to use that flexibility while the core starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]