J.K.

Dobbins

Dobbins will once again start the season as Denver’s presumed lead back, though he’s unlikely to see much pass-game involvement. That should belong (for now) to RJ Harvey, who’s listed as the team’s RB2. Harvey last year was targeted on a strong 27 percent of his pass routes and ended the season with 47 receptions for 365 yards and six receiving scores. Rookie RB Jonah Coleman will start the year as the Broncos’ RB3. He profiles as a sneaky stash option in 12 and 14-team formats.

Legwold writes that the fourth-round rookie is “squarely in the backfield rotation” for the Broncos. Coleman possesses a three-down skill set that could open the door for him to eat into both J.K. Dobbins’ and RJ Harvey’s roles, but fantasy managers shouldn’t rush to put him in their lineups at this time. Dobbins is still considered the favorite to lead the Broncos in early-down touches to start the season, with most of Harvey’s looks coming on third down and in passing situations. That said, Coleman is one of the higher upside stashes at his position who could prove to have top-24 upside or better at some point this season.

Dobbins said he was unsure if he would play in the preseason, but it’s safe to assume the Broncos’ RB1 won’t be taking the field until the regular season. Dobbins exited camp with a soft tissue injury back on August 10th, but didn’t miss any significant time, so it doesn’t come as much of a surprise to hear he’s feel good with less than a month to go before the start of the season. Dobbins is expected to serve as the Broncos’ primary back on early downs and will be on the RB2/RB3 radar for fantasy this season.

It’s hardly a surprise after head coach Sean Payton told beat writers Dobbins would be “fine” after he left Monday with the unspecified injury. Dobbins profiles as the Broncos’ lead back who will probably cede pass-catching duties to RJ Harvey once again in 2026. Rookie RB Jonah Coleman would be an interesting fantasy add if Dobbins, 27, misses any time in 2026. Dobbins last season missed nine games with a foot sprain.

We’re still looking for more clarity here, but Payton did say after practice that he thinks Dobbins is “gonna be fine” and that the team is “trying to be smart with it.” Given Dobbins’ injury history, it makes sense for the team to want to approach any minor issues with caution as they look to get through training camp and into Week 1. Dobbins rushed for 153-772-4 in 10 games with the Broncos last season and signed a two-year, $20 million contract this offseason. He’s expected to serve as their primary lead back, while RJ Harvey will continue to see a role in the passing game. If Dobbins were to miss time, rookie Jonah Coleman could be tasked with stepping in to fill his role.

We don’t have any details on this yet, but any time Dobbins is seen leaving with trainers, there’s cause for concern. The 27-year-old back has battled back from multiple injuries during his seven-year career and was on his way to the best season of his career in 2025 before a foot injury sidelined him after Week 10. We will check back in when we learn more, but if Dobbins were to miss any time, rookie Jonah Coleman’s fantasy stock would see an immediate boost.

Coleman has been noted to be a passing-down consideration instantly — he’s essentially ticketed to fill Tyler Badie’s role from last year per Evans — but the idea that he could get in on short-yardage work is pretty interesting. It’s hard to believe that Coleman will have major fantasy value right away — if at all — this season. But that’s more about the lack of snaps in play than about Coleman’s talent. A Dobbins injury could lead to more Coleman carries than RJ Harvey-reliant managers would like.

This one certainly slipped through the cracks. Harvey reportedly “hasn’t done much team work in OTAs but has been practicing,” according to Evans. While we don’t know when Harvey underwent the surgery, it presumably occurred shortly after the loss to the Patriots, so we would expect him to be at the tail end of his recovery. The second-year back totaled 896 yards from scrimmage and 12 touchdowns in his rookie season, but he will face competition for touches this season with J.K. Dobbins returning and rookie Jonah Coleman now added to the mix. In games that both Harvey and Dobbins played in last season, Harvey averaged just 7.9 opportunities per game compared to the 17.9 opps/gm he saw in games he missed, with Dobbins handling the majority of the rushing work. Hopefully Harvey will be good to go when training camp kicks off next month, but this will be something worth watching until we have received word that he is fully healthy and ready to go.

Coleman, the 109th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, will likely start as RB3 on the Denver’s depth chart to begin training camp. JK Dobbins and RJ Harvey are widely expected to split the team’s backfield workload, as they did for much of the 2025 season before Dobbins’ season-ending ankle injury. Broncos head coach Sean Payton said in late April that Coleman “can play on third downs.” Coleman, who produced 71 percent of his rushing yardage after contact at Washington, could secure a reliable role in the Denver backfield if Dobbins or Harvey miss time in 2026.

“Normally, you have to project that,” Payton said of Coleman, the 109th pick in the 2026 draft out of Washington. “A lot of these guys, in college, maybe the protection plan’s different or limited. So you have to develop that, and that’s fine, but (Coleman’s) frame is such that, when you see him, he does a really good job in blocking pressure looks.” Denver front office officials and coaches have been effusive in their praise for Coleman. Broncos assistant general manager Reed Burckhardt compared Coleman favorably to JK Dobbins, who will return tot he Denver backfield in 2026. “We really like his run style, his ability between the tackles as a finisher,” Burckhardt said. Coleman’s tough running style — he produced a sky-high 71 percent of his college rushing production after first contact — could force Payton to use the rookie early in the 2026 season. Coleman will be a popular late-round fantasy stash this summer.