We may be seeing the pecking order of the Broncos’ backfield shift in real time. Fourth-round rookie Jonah Coleman has handled lead duties over his last two games since returning from IR, and looking ahead to Week 9, he gets an ideal matchup against the Panthers.
Is it too early to say the rookie is in must-start territory for fantasy lineups this week? Here’s the case for Jonah Coleman in Week 9.
Is Jonah Coleman a Week 9 must-start?
Denver used the 108th-overall pick on Jonah Coleman back in April’s draft. He showed plenty of promise during his final two collegiate seasons, both of Which he spent with Washington. He earned two Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selections, amassing 1,811 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns on the ground. While just 5-foot-8, the back is solidly built to shoulder a heavy workload, though his lack of long speed was the main critique on his draft profile.
At the NFL level, Coleman has recorded a stat in just three games, but what we’ve seen from him has been fairly impressive already. He was injured in Week 2 and spent four weeks sidelined on IR afterward, but he did record 39 rushing yards and a touchdown on 10 carries against an elite Jaguars run defense in that contest. Once he returned in Week 7, he racked up 54 rushing yards on just nine carries – more importantly, he led the Broncos in snaps out of the backfield. He saw his opportunity expand in Week 8 with RJ Harvey on IR, playing a backfield-high 66% of snaps and totaling 41 rushing yards and one touchdown on 11 carries against a strong Chiefs front.
The fantasy appeal for Coleman already seems clear. He’s averaging 14.7 FPPG across the three games he’s seen at least one touch in, running for 134 yards and two scores at a clip of 4.5 YPC. His role has certainly expanded with Harvey now sidelined, but he’s also seen fairly steady receiving production even when his teammate was active. He’s seen at least two targets and receptions in each game, and he’s coming off a career-best four receptions for 63 yards against Kansas City.
There are rumblings that the Broncos may make a move for star halfback Jonathan Taylor at some point before the upcoming trade deadline, but assuming such a deal doesn’t occur, Coleman absolutely belongs on the fantasy radar moving forward. He’s out-snapped incumbent J.K. Dobbins in each of his two games since coming off IR and has outpaced him in rush attempts and targets. The rookie appears to have taken a grasp on the starting role in this backfield, and unless Dobbins miraculously regains his prior form after running for just 3.3 YPC this season, it’s unlikely he’ll let go of that lead job.
That brings us to Week 9, in which Coleman gets a dream matchup. Denver faces Carolina, a defense that has performed notoriously poorly in the run game over the last couple of seasons. The Panthers allow 28.3 FPPG to RBs, second most of any team in the NFL. On a per-game basis, they’re giving up 115.6 rushing yards to the position, fifth most, and the 1.4 touchdowns allowed are the second-highest average in football. As a bonus, the 4.73 YPC that opposing running backs are generating is the league’s fifth-highest mark.
With that matchup on deck and his newfound grip on the lead role in the Broncos’ backfield, Coleman is a player to fire up with joy in Week 9. He belongs in lineups across all formats and brings an RB2 floor with the ceiling for a top-12 finish on the week if he gets into the end zone more than once. He should run rampant on this Panthers defense, so make sure to start him.
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