Not everyone was in the best mood in the locker room after the Denver Broncos' 30-16 win on the road against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 7.
Running back JK Dobbins, who has been heavily featured in the offense in both Week 5 and Week 6, played a season-low 14 snaps against the Cardinals. Playing just 23 percent of the offensive snaps, Dobbins told the media in the locker room that he was "unavailable" after the game (a post on Twitter/X has since been deleted).
It's not difficult to read these tea leaves and follow these breadcrumbs. The Broncos gave Dobbins the previous two games to essentially audition himself as the true featured back in Sean Payton's offense, and he wasn't up to the task.
The rookie Jonah Coleman took his place against Arizona, and might have taken his place going forward.
Broncos clearly made major changes at the running back position in Week 7
Declaring himself unavailable to the media after the win against Arizona is a major shift from Dobbins, who expressed excitement just a couple of weeks ago over beaing heavily featured when Sean Payton took over play-calling duties.
In the games against the Chargers and Seahawks, however, it became abundantly clear that Dobbins wasn't cutting it as an every-down back.
Denver's run game after contact:
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) October 21, 2026
#30 in yards after contact per rush at 2.26
#31 in % of runs that gain 5+ yards at 26.5
#31 in longest run at 17 yards
#31 in elusiveness rating
The Broncos have simply not been able to get anything going in the running game, and Dobbins is clearly at the center of it.
Although there is plenty of blame to be shared with the offensive line getting bullied at times, Dobbins is not showing the level of contact balance, explosiveness, and ability to create yardage after contact that he showed last season.
He ranks 31st out of 39 qualifying backs (50 carries minimum) in total EPA this season (-16.09). He ranks 33rd out of 39 at 3.37 yards per carry. According to Next Gen Stats, he has the 3rd-worst rushing yards over expected (RYOE) among backs with at least 50 carries.
Enter Jonah Coleman against the Arizona Cardinals, fresh off injured reserve, and leading the running back position with 9 carries for 54 yards, and playing 30 total snaps (49.2 percent).
Coleman's explosiveness and contact balance were a stark contrast to what we've seen from Dobbins so far this season. His vision and burst were a breath of fresh air to the offense.
It's no coincidence that in the Broncos' two best and most complete games offensively this season (Week 2 vs. Jacksonville; Week 7 vs. Arizona), Coleman has been heavily involved and featured. But it wasn't until the Arizona game that we really saw the Broncos intentionally place him above Dobbins.
And, for that matter, RJ Harvey as well. Harvey was on the field for 16 snaps against the Cardinals, but made his usual significant impact in the passing game.
The pecking order has changed, and Dobbins knew it after the game. There was a lot of speculation going into that Arizona game about whether or not the team would ease Coleman back into the mix, or whether the Broncos would change things up after their "mini bye" following the Seattle victory.
We now have our answer, which may mean Dobbins's fate with the team is sealed. He may officially be the 3rd back in the pecking order behind Jonah Coleman and RJ Harvey.
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