Sean Payton has a backfield decision to make before Sunday, and he doesn’t have to look far for the answer. Wednesday the Broncos designated Jonah Coleman for return from injured reserve, and the rookie practiced fully on an ankle that has kept him out since Week 2.
Coleman should be activated and handed the first series in Glendale. J.K. Dobbins has had six games to get Denver’s ground game going, and 17 carries for 41 yards against Seattle is where that experiment should end.
J.K. Dobbins’ numbers keep sliding
Dobbins has 270 yards on 81 carries, a 3.3-yard average that sits well below the 3.6 yards per carry he brought into Week 6. His 52.6 rushing grade ranks 45th of 46 qualified running backs, and his 2.57 yards after contact per attempt ranks 35th, per PFF. As a team, Denver averages 3.4 yards per carry, per StatMuse.
This was supposed to be his year. “I keep saying it, and people think I’m crazy, but I’m going to be No. 1 (in rushing),” Dobbins told The Denver Gazette in July. He’s 23rd among running backs in rushing yards.
Payton has made it clear what he wants. “The improved play from our offensive line, the more efficient we are, relative to balance, running the football,” he said Monday, per the team’s website. Balance is hard to find when runs keep coming up short. The Broncos went 0-for-6 on third down after halftime against Seattle, and short runs are a big reason those third downs were long.
Why Jonah Coleman has earned the Arizona workload
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The sample is small, and that’s the honest counterargument. Coleman has 10 career carries. They came in the Week 2 win over Jacksonville, when he ran for 39 yards and his first NFL touchdown, caught three passes and led Denver’s running backs in snaps. His 33-yard gain on the final drive helped close it out. “He came up big and we needed it,” Payton said, per the team’s website.
Coleman’s 3.9 yards per carry beats Dobbins’ 3.3, and the rest of the room doesn’t offer a better option. Tyler Badie hurt his thumb against Seattle and didn’t practice Wednesday, and RJ Harvey (21 carries, 81 yards) is more valuable as Denver’s two-minute receiver.
Arizona’s front is also the right place to find out. The Cardinals allow 4.4 yards per carry, per StatMuse, and defensive lineman Walter Nolen III missed Wednesday’s practice with an ankle injury. Mack Wilson Sr. made nine tackles against the Rams, and he and Jack Gibbens will fill gaps all day. A rookie with Coleman’s burst is a better bet to get through them than a veteran averaging 3.3 yards a carry.
Keep Dobbins in the rotation. Just stop treating him as the starter by default. Coleman gives the Broncos’ offense its best chance at balance against a defense that just found its footing, and Payton should give him the chance on Sunday.
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