With RJ Harvey (knee) on IR, the Broncos used a two-man backfield between Jonah Coleman ($5,300) and J.K. Dobbins ($4,800) in this past Sunday’s come-from-behind win over the Chiefs.
Coleman flourished with 20.4 FPTS while Dobbins did next to nothing with just 1.3 FPTS. Following this contest, has Coleman officially passed Dobbins on the Broncos’ depth chart?
Coleman vs. Dobbins: Who’s the starter?
Coleman and Dobbins were the only two Broncos backs to touch the ball this past Sunday, but Coleman operated well ahead of Dobbins.
Coleman rushed 11 times for 41 yards and a touchdown, and he caught 4-of-5 targets for 63 yards. Coleman was huge for the Broncos in their 11-point fourth quarter comeback. With Denver trailing by three points with under three minutes remaining, Coleman broke free for a 51-yard reception that got the Broncos into the red zone. Then, the back rushed it in for the game-winning touchdown on the next play.
Meanwhile, Dobbins was a non-factor, rushing seven times for 13 yards and catching no passes.
Coleman handled 61% of the running back carries on a 66% snap rate while Dobbins saw 38.9% of the carries on a 20.9% snap rate. Coleman handled all six of the Broncos’ red-zone carries. The rookie also dominated the usage in the passing game. Coleman saw a 12.4% target share on a 50% route rate while Dobbins saw no targets on 5.9% route rate.
As you can see, Coleman was the Broncos’ unquestioned lead back, which should continue to be the case for the rest of the season. Coleman has been far more efficient than Dobbins this season, averaging 4.5 YPC with a 53.3% rushing success rate – Dobbins is averaging just 3.3 YPC with a 39.4% rushing success rate. Both these marks are career lows for Dobbins and both rank bottom-six among the 42 backs who have seen 50+ carries this season.
This is officially Coleman’s backfield, and the rookie shouldn’t slow down this Sunday vs. the Panthers. Carolina leads the league in pace and its defense has been a run funnel this season, allowing the fifth-most yards per rush (4.8) but the seventh-fewest yards per pass (6.4). The Panthers are giving up the most rushing touchdowns in the league (12), so Coleman has multiple-touchdown upside in this spot. At only $5,300 on DraftKings, Coleman is a tough value play to ignore for this Sunday’s main slate.
