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Will Jonah Coleman start for the Denver Broncos when he returns? John Johnson breaks down the Jonah Coleman return timeline and fantasy football outlook ahead of Week 5.
Denver Broncos running back Jonah Coleman (ankle) carried the ball 10 times for 48 yards, scored a rushing touchdown, and caught all three of his targets for 19 yards in the only game he played significant action in this season, Week 2.
Unfortunately, he injured his ankle in that game and was subsequently placed on short-term injured reserve. He'll be eligible to return to game action in Week 7 at the earliest. He was deemed a fantasy football sleeper by many in the community for his impressive college tape.
He joined a team with two other RBs that got significant volume in 2025, though. Running back J.K. Dobbins served as the starter and primary rusher while RJ Harvey, who was selected in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, was active as a pass-catcher. So will Coleman be the starter when he returns to action?
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Will Jonah Coleman Start For The Denver Broncos When He Returns?
It's almost certain that this won't happen. Dobbins still has a grip on the primary runner role, and has rushed the ball 28 times in his past two games. Additionally, Harvey was in the mix with seven rushes for 25 yards and 10 receptions for 68 yards.
Harvey is clearly the better fantasy option right now due to his receiving role, and Dobbins has been on the decline for some time. There's at least a chance that Coleman could challenge for more of a rushing role as the season goes on.
Every JK Dobbins touch for the #Broncos from Week 4
Does anything stand out to you? 🤔 https://t.co/em48gUrUji
— Kodiak Broncos (@KodiakBroncos) October 5, 2026
Dobbins has been fine as a rusher. The blocking and run schemes haven't been elite, but he's not shown much juice. He's just 27 years old, so age shouldn't be a huge factor here, but he has had numerous devastating, season-ending injuries in his past, and those could catch up with him sooner rather than later.
He still plays with good vision and anticipation, but doesn't have the big-play ability he flashed earlier in his career. That's where Coleman could make a difference. But he'll need to first recover fully from his injury, and high-ankle sprains can hold players back for the rest of the season, even after they return to full practice.
Jonah Coleman Fantasy Football Outlook
Coleman is probably set to be more of a slow burn for dynasty fantasy football managers. He's got plenty of competition in this backfield, and the Broncos still seem to want both Dobbins and Harvey to play big roles. In Week 1, Coleman saw just six percent of his team's offensive snaps and failed to record a single touch.
Meanwhile, the RB1 and RB2 saw a combined 15 touches in a crushing loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Denver hardly wanted Coleman on the field. It's normal to expect rookies to need time to acclimate to playing in the NFL, their first pro-style offense, and the speed of the game, which is significantly faster than it is in college.
First TD for the rook!
📺: @NFLonCBS / @paramountplus https://t.co/lwtGesjhr4
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) September 20, 2026
As is the case with most rookie RBs that aren't selected early in the first round of the NFL Draft, Coleman will have to earn his role in this backfield as the season goes on. Year 1 may simply be an audition for him, with his film being taken into consideration as to whether the team will retain Dobbins' services.
The RB1 has an out in his contract whereby Denver could cut him and suffer only $2 million in dead cap. A Coleman and Harvey backfield for 2027 and beyond could be the plan here, in which case Denver will likely continue to feed Dobbins this season and let Coleman develop into the starter they want him to be.
Who Should I Start Tool
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Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 5 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like JK Dobbins, RJ Harvey, Quinshon Judkins, Ollie Gordon II, Rico Dowdle. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 5. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 5 of the 2026 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Week 5 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - JK Dobbins, RJ Harvey, Quinshon Judkins, Ollie Gordon II, Rico Dowdle. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 5.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, players news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do, is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 5 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 5 (2026)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 5 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 5 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for JK Dobbins, RJ Harvey, Quinshon Judkins, Ollie Gordon II, Rico Dowdle compared to others:
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