Broncos’ New Draft Pick Could Complicate Denver’s Backfield Picture
The Denver Broncos added Washington running back Jonah Coleman with the 108th overall pick, their first of two fourth-round selections in the 2026 NFL Draft, and the pick could immediately shake up how the team deploys its backfield near the goal line.
Head coach Sean Payton did not shy away from describing Coleman’s vision. “We’re trying to find who’s the best runner, and does it fit us?” Payton said after the pick. “We felt strongly it did with him.” Coleman, a stout, densely built back at roughly 220 pounds, profiles as an inside runner with enough passing-down ability to stay on the field in all three downs. The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider has projected an immediate role for Coleman as the team’s short-yardage specialist.
That projection puts Coleman in direct competition with a backfield that already had genuine depth. J.K. Dobbins, who re-signed with Denver in March on a two-year, $16 million deal, led the Broncos in rushing yards in 2025 despite suffering a season-ending Lisfranc foot injury in Week 10. Before going down, Dobbins had logged 153 carries for 772 yards at more than 5.0 yards per carry, a pace that put him fifth in the NFL through that point of the season. He has since been cleared for football activities and is expected to be healthy at the start of the 2026 campaign.
Behind Dobbins, RJ Harvey, the Broncos’ second-round pick from the 2025 draft, stepped into the lead role after the injury and finished the regular season and postseason as a starter. Harvey totaled 896 scrimmage yards and 12 touchdowns across 17 games, including a standout three-touchdown performance against Dallas in Week 8. He started Denver’s postseason run before the Broncos fell to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, 10-7.
Coleman’s arrival makes an already crowded room more complicated. All three backs offer some utility as receivers and blockers, meaning the overlap in skillsets could frustrate efforts to carve out clean roles — particularly for fantasy managers tracking touches. The specific breakdown of short-yardage and goal-line usage for Dobbins and Harvey in 2025 was not independently confirmed at the time of publication, but multiple observers noted Harvey was effective in scoring situations during his first NFL season.
Based on his re-signing, his efficiency numbers, and his experience in Sean Payton’s system, Dobbins is the most likely candidate to lead the backfield in overall carries when the season opens. But how quickly Coleman can establish himself in short-yardage packages, and whether that chips into Harvey’s role, remains the central question heading into training camp.