Coleman Is Only 2026 Denver Draftee Providing Value

Any NFL trade involving a team acquiring a proven player for draft picks requires the weighing of immediate return against future value.

The side getting the immediate return is often seen as the winner because the player's track record of performance is tangible while the value of a draft pick that may be made one or two or more years down the road is impossible to accurately determine.

Such was the case when the Denver Broncos acquired wide receiver Jaylen Waddle from the Miami Dolphins on March 17 for their first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft (No. 30 overall), along with 2026 selections in the third (94th) and fourth rounds (130).

The trade hasn't quite worked out as expected for the Broncos as Waddle has only one game with more than five receptions and 48 yards (Week 2's 10-catch, 138-yard explosion against the Jacksonville Jaguars), and for the season he is averaging 3.3 catches and 37.4 yards per game with two touchdowns.

Sure, the Broncos stand 7-2 after nine games and in first in the AFC West as they navigate their bye week, but it's definitely not because of anything Waddle has contributed outside of Week 2.

The Waddle trade left Denver without a first-round selection, and when they traded out of the second round as the draft was rolling along, it left the franchise without a first- or second-round draft pick since 1995.

And the contributions the Broncos have gotten from the seven picks they made from the third round on have, much like Waddle's, been limited to one significant highlight.

That would be running back Jonah Coleman, who was taken with the 108th pick overall in the fourth round.

Coleman has missed four games with injury, but in the five he has played, with one start among them, he has rushed for 191 yards with a per-carry average of 4.1 yards and three touchdowns. He has even been more valuable as a receiver with 13 catches for 128 yards, a 9.8-yard average per reception. When extrapolated over a 17-game season, Coleman would account for 1,356 total yards with 12 touchdowns, a return that any team would take from any running back taken in any round.

That's it for the 2026 rookie highlights. Defensive tackle Tyler Onyedim was actually taken 42 spots ahead of Coleman (second pick in the third round), but he has been active for only one game, Week 9's defeat of the Carolina Panthers in which he did force a fumble while seeing the field for 10 defensive snaps.

Offensive tackle Kage Casey (4th round, 111th overall), safety Miles Scott (7th, 246th), tight end Dallen Bentley (7th, 256th) and linebacker Red Murdock (7th, 257th) have all been inactive for the entire season, while fifth-round tight end Justin Joly (152nd overall) was cut at the end of training camp and is now a member of the Miami Dolphins where he has been inactive for all but one game this year.

As mentioned, the Broncos are still sitting pretty in the AFC West and likely to make the playoffs, but successful drafts help ensure the long-term viability of a team's contention window. Too many more substandard selection meetings, as it appears the Broncos suffered through in 2026, could eventually hamper their ability to remain year-to-year contenders.