The Denver Broncos spent the bulk of their premium draft picks on non-premium draft picks. They traded their first rounder and third rounder for Jaylen Waddle, then traded their second back. They ended up with a handful of day three fantasy football-relevant players, in Jonah Coleman, Justin Joly, and Dallen Bentley. Do any of these guys have fantasy football relevance in the 2026 fantasy football regular season?
Round 4, Pick 108 Overall: Jonah Coleman, RB
TALENT
The Pride of Stockton, CA, Jonah Coleman was a three-down back at Washington, one who rarely came off the field, and who rarely fumbled (one college fumble). He’s a perfectly cromulent NFL back who is going to carve out an NFL career for a good while, but not one who I feel particularly enthused about writing home about, at least not from the small sample size I was able to watch.
First, the best part of his game (and part of his three-down skill set): his pass protection. It will get him on the field right away and will make it very difficult to take him off the field. Now, the good of him as a runner. He can make guys miss in small spaces, shaking off indirect tacklers, and his low center of gravity & superb contact balance make it difficult to bring him down. He frequently will carry a defender three or four extra yards, or not go down when a tackler tries to spin him down to the ground.
He’s also a patient back, capable of processing a crowded line of scrimmage well, rarely running into a defender. Unfortunately, this sometimes devolves into dancing at the line of scrimmage, as he lets perfect be the enemy of good. Coleman frequently dances in the backfield until he has nowhere else to go except the arms of a would-be tackler.
It’s not all bad, and he has a fantasy-relevant skill set that should find him productive at the NFL level. If you give him some space, he’s a demon at stacking moves in the open field and maximizing chunk gains against defenders. Unfortunately, he is not a speed demon to the edge, and he frequently tries to bounce it outside. That will likely go straight into Fred Warner’s or Devin Lloyd’s waiting arms at the next level (and he’s unlikely to break that square-on tackle).
Coleman is also an adept pass catcher, which will also make him a multi-dimensional threat at the NFL level. Unfortunately, he plays a lot smaller than his size. When you watch him, you come away equally impressed with his skills, but also a little disappointed that he went down with some of the tackles sent his way, because he plays like he’s 25 pounds lighter than he actually is.
NFL Comparison: Sean Tucker
Draft Grade: Late Round 3
2026 OPPORTUNITY
RJ Harvey and J.K. Dobbins are the incumbents in Denver, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot when you consider their skills against Coleman’s. Dobbins is still a good back with good pass protection and a top-eight true yards per carry per playerprofiler.com, but he’s missed eleven games in the past two seasons, which will inevitably create an opening for Coleman. Harvey’s skills, alongside head coach Sean Payton’s predilection for using multiple backs, will get Coleman on the field. Harvey is a decent overall running back, but not a great runner (ranking 41st in juke rate and 65th in true yards per touch), instead getting his yardage through the air (ranking sixth in yards per route run and seventeenth in yards per reception).
This gives Coleman a chance to get on the field and produce this season, but will that provide fantasy football upside?
2026 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
My main worry for Coleman comes in that he won’t get the cheap points in PPR leagues, as that will be Harvey’s domain in the running back rotation. He also has to wait for Dobbins to go down (which will happen, don’t worry). Coleman will get a lot of the rushing yards once Dobbins goes down, and he is the better goal-line back between him and Harvey (the Broncos likely agree, as Harvey had just five goal-line carries last year).
However, Coleman is a great draft and stash candidate for any league with ten teams or more, at least in my opinion. Sean Payton loves a multi-back room, and he slots right into the J.K. Dobbins side of the platoon the moment he gets the opportunity to produce.
Round 5, Pick 152 Overall: Justin Joly, TE
TALENT
Justin Joly has the best hands in this class, at least among tight ends, and that is his carrying trait. That’s a great carrying trait to have for fantasy football, since tight ends don’t get points for chips or pancakes (wait, maybe those Uber Eats commercials are right). He rarely drops a ball, and has incredible body control and catch radius, making him an ideal target hog release valve for a young tight end. Joly runs routes from all over the field, making him a versatile chess piece that allows playcallers to get him in the best possible position to dominate linebackers and safeties. He dominates down the seam, thanks to his speed and versatility. He should make waves in fantasy football if he lands in the right situation, Harold Fannin Jr. style.
NFL Comparison: Delanie Walker
Draft Round: 3rd Round
2026 OPPORTUNITY
Well, this stinks. The Broncos took one of the best pass-catching tight ends in the league (Evan Engram) and shunted him to the shadow realm in favor of “Adam Trautman,” and they likely do the same to Joly this season. However, if you want to be excited for Joly, there is an opportunity there. Sean Payton literally coined the term “joker” for versatile running backs or tight ends, and that could be Joly this season. However, he is still a day three running back, and they face uphill battles to produce in their rookie campaigns.
2026 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Joly likely doesn’t get enough opportunities to do anything this season, especially since there is already a crowded wide receiver room with Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims, Jaylen Waddle, and Pat Bryant, alongside the pass-catching RJ Harvey. There’s a slim chance he has fantasy football relevance this season.
Round 7, Pick 256 Overall: Dallen Bentley, TE
TALENT
Mr. Near-Irrelevant was not on my radar heading into the 2026 NFL Draft. He’s a lumbering route runner and space eater who is best catching passes in the holes in zones, as he gets destroyed at the catch point in man defense situations. But don’t worry, he also isn’t a very good blocker, either.
2026 OPPORTUNITY
I’m nearly completely out on Justin Joly for redraft leagues, and Bentley went 200 picks later.
2026 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Brother, he’s probably TE4 on this team, at best.
