RJ Harvey (hamstring) listed as DNP on Wednesday

Dobbins operated as a pure breather back for this one, getting out-touched 21-5 by Jonah Coleman and out-snapped 58-11. Dobbins did receive two touches inside the Panthers’ 20-yard line — one of which was nullified by penalty — but none inside the 10. It sure looks as if the Broncos are ready to ride rookie Coleman, making Dobbins a shaky 12-team league hold since the Broncos are now headed on bye. They return in Week 11 against the Raiders. The odds are strong Dobbins will not be in your starting lineup for that one.

Coleman also put the ball on the ground near his own goal line on a Bo Nix pitch, but the Broncos were thankfully able to recover. Also thankfully for fantasy managers, coach Sean Payton continued to look Coleman’s way late after the miscue, including the very next play. Coleman experienced really strong usage in Charlotte, playing 58-of-75 snaps per PFF’s initial count while easily setting a new career high with his 21 touches. He has also now cleared 80 yards from scrimmage in back-to-back contests. It must be noted that today’s score was not a goal-line carry — it came from nine yards out — but he did receive a first quarter carry from the Panthers’ four-yard line. Coleman’s role continues to grow, thus far without setback. Hopefully that does not change when the Broncos come off bye in Week 11 against the Raiders’ soft defense. We will be ranking Coleman as a strong RB2 for that one.

Dobbins got the Bronocs’ first touch on offense and immediately took a backseat to Jonah Coleman. The rookie tallied 11 carries and five targets. He also became the first Bronocs running back to hit 100 yards from scrimmage in a game this year. Dobbins was not targeted and was not on the field at the goal line, where Coleman was heavily involved. Coleman ultimately punched in a goal line touchdown for the game-winning score after setting himself up with a 51-yard catch. The short-yardage role used to belong to Dobbins, but the rookie appears to have taken that as well. Without any high-value touches to work with, Dobbins is a between-the-20s grinder averaging a little over three yards per carry this season. He is falling back into the RB4 ranks for his Week 9 date with the Panthers.

Coleman out-carried Dobbins 11-7 and was the only Broncos running back to earn a target, of which he saw five. Most importantly, Coleman was on the field for goal line duties, and he cashed in with a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Though he only averaged 3.7 yards per carry, Coleman was a handful for Chiefs defenders to bring down, routinely creating missed tackles while racking up yards after contact. Coleman’s best rep of the day was a 51-yard catch-and-run to set up his touchdown on the next play. Coleman saw all of the high-value touches in the backfield while leading the way in carries and targets. The takeover is all but complete, putting Coleman in the RB2 ranks for Week 9 against the Panthers.

Whoa, that escalated quickly. Harvey reportedly suffered a knee injury in practice this week that initially caused the Broncos to rule him out for Week 8, with the team then making the procedural move of placing him on injured reserve Saturday. Harvey will now miss the next four games, at minimum, as he rehabs the injury, leaving rookie Jonah Coleman and veteran J.K. Dobbins to handle primary backfield duties with Tyler Badie also on injured reserve. Coleman warrants weekly FLEX status, at minimum.

Harvey was added to the injury report Thursday with a knee injury before being unable to practice Friday, ultimately ruled out for the team’s divisional clash against the Chiefs. Expect Jonah Coleman to serve as the primary rusher in addition to the possibility he sees his pass game involvement tick up in the absences of both Harvey and Tyler Badie, the latter of whom is on injured reserve. The increase in opportunity is enough to vault Coleman into viable FLEX territory for Week 8.

Harvey was added to the injury report Thursday after being limited in practice due to a knee injury, something fantasy managers will want to monitor as the weekend approaches. Either way, Harvey now has two healthy backs to compete with for touches with the return of Jonah Coleman in Week 7, keeping him on the fringes of FLEX consideration entering a difficult matchup against the Chiefs.

He also noted that Coleman’s touches were explosive. It’s hard to sit here with much certainty about what looks to be a three-headed Broncos running back room where every back has their niche, but Coleman probably enters Week 8 as the favorite of the three to crack 10 touches. Payton added, for the 17th time since he became Broncos coach, that he needed to get more touches for Marvin Mims on offense. We’ll believe that when we see it.

Coleman returned to action after missing a month because of an ankle injury. He was immediately in the mix for touches and saw three opportunities before RJ Harvey got his first look. Coleman went on to lead the Broncos in carries. Both he and Harvey earned two targets apiece. Unfortunately for Coleman, he was the only Denver back who didn’t find the end zone in Week 7. Coleman has made a mess of a backfield that had just begun to stabilize. Now all three Denver backs will be low-end FLEX options for Week 8 versus the Chiefs.

Harvey only ran the ball three times for six yards. Jonah Coleman, who was active for the first time since Week 2, ran nine times and also caught a pair of passes. Harvey’s role took a hit, but he made the most of his limited opportunities with a 52-yard screen in the third quarter. Sean Payton’s play-call schemed half of the Cardinals’ defense out of the play and Harvey blew by the other half on his way to the end zone. Despite the spike week for fantasy managers, Harvey’s declining role will have him tumbling down the running back ranks for Week 8. He will be on the RB3/4 border versus Kansas City next week.