Broncos may be hiding their most coveted RB prospect in plain sight

When it comes to the 2026 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos are widely expected to come away with a running back with one of their top three picks. And although we've spent the past few months looking at dozens of mock draft scenarios and thought exercises, the perfect fit for the team has probably been staring us all in the face the entire time.

The Broncos have only had two reported confirmed 30 visits at the running back position at this point: Washington's Jonah Coleman and Indiana's Kaelon Black. The team's history of selecting players who come to town on one of those 30 allowed pre-draft visits is pretty non-existent, but you never know when a player is going to be the exception.

Jonah Coleman is the most obvious fit for the Denver Broncos' culture, their offense, their depth chart, and what they're currently missing at the running back position.

Jonah Coleman is the most obvious Denver Broncos fit at running back in the 2026 NFL Draft

If you need one video clip to prove exactly why Coleman is the ideal fit for the Denver Broncos, here it is from the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine where he's talking about the importance of pass protection, and the team-first mentality.

Coleman checked in at just over 5-foot-8, but a hefty 222 pounds. It's almost as though he was built in a lab for pass protection at the NFL level. When you combine that kind of size and leverage, you undoubtedly have a back who is going to be trustworthy on passing downs.

But what's more fascinating about Coleman are the numbers he put up in situations where the Broncos struggled last season.

Out of his 25 touchdowns at the college level, 24 came in the red zone. The Broncos ranked 21st in the NFL last season with a red zone touchdown percentage of 55.56 percent. That was a disappointing decline from a 61.4 percent rate the year prior. What's really disappointing is that the Broncos ranked 30th in the NFL over their last three games with a red zone TD percentage of just 22.22 percent, and their shocking struggle last year was converting in the red zone at home.

But Coleman can't just be expected to come in and fix that issue on his own, it's simply an interesting point of data where he can meet an obvious need for the Broncos.

Beyond his ability to finish drives, Coleman is excellent as a three-down player as both a receiver and pass protector. He had six receptions of 20-plus yards last season, which was in the top 3 of all FBS running backs.

Another major factor for Coleman is the fact that he was a team captain at Washington. Although Sean Payton and the Broncos have said in the past that they don't seek out team captains, it's clear that they gravitate toward prospects with those types of leadership qualities. Whether or not the Broncos seek them out, they manage to draft a lot of them.

At the Scouting Combine, Coleman revealed that he had a formal meeting with the Broncos (meaning Denver has had no fewer than two close touch points with him). The Broncos were also represented among the 29 NFL teams at Washington's pro day in mid-March.

According to Luca Evans of The Denver Post, Coleman also discussed the fact that the Broncos and Washington Huskies run similar offenses overall:

Coleman is truly the ideal running back prospect for the Denver Broncos in 2026. He fills gaps on the running back depth chart with JK Dobbins and RJ Harvey very clearly the top two guys heading into this upcoming season. He has the skill set to replace Tyler Badie as the 3rd-down back, while also presenting a better option as a runner as insurance for JK Dobbins.

His size and physicality give him the opportunity to contribute immediately at the NFL level.

What the Broncos need from this draft is a pro-ready back who can run with some power, pick up pass protection concepts quickly, and raise the floor of the position. While Jonah Coleman isn't the only player who can do those things, he's certainly the most obvious.