The fourth-round rookie dazzled with elite vision and contact balance in Atlanta, earning high praise from Sean Payton and potentially securing the primary backup role behind J.K. Dobbins.
The Denver Broncos began their preseason with a 27-7 win on the road against the Atlanta Falcons.
Bo Nix didn't play any snaps, which was expected. Jarrett Stidham went 9-of-15 for 131 yards with a touchdown, while Sam Ehlinger went 10-14 for 67 yards in the Broncos first game since losing in the AFC title game to the New England Patriots.
Since the Broncos traded their first-round pick in 2026 as part of the package to land Jaylen Waddle in a blockbuster deal with the Miami Dolphins, there weren't a ton of notable rookies to watch in the opener.
One of them, however, was Jonah Coleman, the running back who starred for the Washington Huskies.
The Broncos selected Coleman in the fourth round, and it provides much-needed insurance due to veteran J.K. Dobbins dealing with plenty of injuries over the years.
On the surface, Coleman had just four carries for 24 yards in the opener, and he did not record a target in the receiving game. However, Chad Reuter of NFL.com had a strong grade for Coleman, as he gave the Broncos rookie a B+.
"RB Jonah Coleman read blocks well early on against the Falcons on Friday, making a nice cut off a solid effort by tight end Evan Engram for a 9-yard gain that ultimately was called back due to a holding penalty elsewhere. Finishing the night with 24 yards on four carries, the fourth-round pick's most impressive run came toward the end of the first quarter, when he stuttered behind the line, burst through a crease, spun off one tackle attempt and carried two defenders for extra yards," Reuter wrote.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton told reporters he had "seen enough" after Coleman's four carries in the opener, and it made the coach feel fine about what he had seen from the rookie running back.
Jaleel McLaughlin had six carries for 24 yards on the night, Tyler Badie had five carries for 18 yards and Cody Schrader had seven carries for 17 yards.
RJ Harvey, the Broncos' seventh-round pick from 2025, emerged as a rookie after Dobbins went down, and he had five carries for 16 yards in the opener.
Coleman is arguably making a case to be the team's RB2, and he would likely be the go-to option of Dobbins suffers an injury again.
The Broncos take on the Green Bay Packers in the second preseason game on Friday, this one being in Denver, but there might not be many touches for Coleman.
