Jonah Coleman is Denver Broncos Best Running Back; Time for him to Get More Snaps

Jonah Coleman is the Denver Broncos best running back.

He's only played in two games, but the juice is there. He has the legs to carry the Broncos run game.

Denver should lean on him and move J.K. Dobbins to the backup spot.

Jonah Coleman is the Denver Broncos best back

Coleman has played in only three games this year — and carried the ball in only two of them — but he's proven he's the best back on the Broncos already.

That's no slight to J.K. Dobbins nor RJ Harvey. They just don't have the juice or versatility that Coleman has.

Dobbins has been OK, but not great. Nowhere near his usual level of play either. Apparently he’s working through a hamstring injury all year long. 

And Harvey showed what he can do on this recent Sunday afternoon. He has great hands and superb speed when you get him outside. He took that screen to the house, 52 yards to daylight. It was very reminiscent of his long touchdown on a screen last year vs. the Cowboys. 

Coleman is your every down back. He’s tough. He’s powerful. But he also has the quick acceleration needed to take a short run and extend it to eight yards. 

He had one such run on Sunday, as well as one that went 15 yards and another that went for 12.

“He played well," Sean Payton said of Coleman's performance. "The touches he had were explosive. Like anything else, I think it’s something you earn. He’s done a good job of that.”

Coleman rushed nine times for 54 yards on the day, a strong 6.0 yards per carry average. That’s the best YPC for any Broncos back this year in a game. 

In fact, Dobbins best game by YPC was way back in Week 1, with a 4.5 yard average. Harvey's best game came in that same opener; he ran 3 times for 18 yards, matching Coleman's 6.0 YPC.

Coleman has great vision, patience

The first thing that stood out to me is Coleman's acceleration. The way he's hitting the hole is unmatched on the team.

But after watching his highlights from last Sunday (below), I noticed his great patience.

On some snaps, Coleman takes a split-second hop-step in the backfield to quickly scan the line and find a place to run. It becomes more evident as the play reel goes on.

That's where his great vision comes into play. He's able to use that half a second to find the hole and then he attacks it with downhill running. He put that on display multiple times last week.

I also love how he runs through contact. There were multiple times he got hit at the line but still fell forward for two yards, including that 3rd-and-1 run. The same goes for the run he bounced outside late; he was contacted but kept his legs churning and found room around the edge.

Then he cut it inside to keep the clock running. Smart for a rookie, just like when he slid before the end zone against the Jaguars in Week 2 to run the clock out.

Here's his tape from the Cardinals game:

After the win over the Cardinals, Payton said of Coleman, Juice. He looked really good. Have to get him more touches definitely.”

He out-snapped Dobbins 30-14, and Harvey actually had the second-most snaps by any back with 16. So it looks like the Broncos are already moving from Dobbins to Coleman.

Dobbins Upset

It was also interesting that Dobbins wouldn’t talk to the media on Sunday afternoon after the game. 

Mike Klis of 9News tweeted about it, saying “Hello, Indy?” at the end of his post. 

There’s been lots of talk about the Broncos potentially trading for running back Jonathan Taylor, but that seems unlikely with the rise of Coleman. Or, could they possibly trade Dobbins and something else for Quenton Nelson, the stellar guard?

Quick Stats

• 28 of Coleman's rushing yards came after contact on Sunday. That's a great 51.8%.
• 11 of his 39 rushing yards (28.2%) came after contact in Week 2.
• Ironically, Dobbins earned the highest grade on Denver's offense (88.2) per Pro Football Focus. Coleman was 6th at 70.4.
• Coleman's 4.9 yards per carry are best on the team and he would be ranked 8th in the NFL right now but he only has 19 carries. Pro Football Reference has the cutoff at 48 carries through seven games.

Thanks for reading! Please subscribe today. Or leave a tip in the tip jar!

New offer: Get a free artwork print of your choice with a paid subscription.

Follow The Broncos Blitz on Bluesky!

Rich Kurtzman was born and raised in Denver Colorado and attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins in the aughts. He's been a professional writer since 2011, covering Colorado State football and men's basketball, as well as the Denver Broncos, for many outlets. Current Denver Broncos work can be found on Mile High Sports. Previous credits include CBS Denver and The USA TODAY Sports Media Group.