Denver’s backfield is crowded, its receiver room is deeper than it’s been in years, and neither situation is settled. That’s exactly what fantasy football managers should be watching as Broncos training camp rolls through its first two weeks. The battles at running back and the third wide receiver spot behind Jaylen Waddle and Courtland Sutton will decide who cashes in on Bo Nix’s expanded 2026 offense — and who gets left on the waiver wire.
A New Supporting Cast Around Bo Nix
Denver’s offseason was aggressive by design. General manager George Paton used salary cap flexibility to lock up defensive pieces, then turned his attention to the offense. The headline move sent a 2026 first-round pick (No. 30 overall), plus third- and fourth-round selections, to Miami for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, according to CBS Sports. The Broncos officially announced the trade, with Waddle calling the move a chance to play with “great players” during his introductory press conference.
Waddle instantly becomes Nix’s top perimeter threat opposite Sutton. Sean Payton also promoted longtime assistant Davis Webb to offensive coordinator, and by all camp accounts, Nix has looked comfortable running it. Early reporting from ESPN’s camp preview notes the Broncos face five teams that won at least 11 games last season within their first six weeks, a brutal opening stretch that puts a premium on getting the offense’s role players sorted out now.
Underneath the two locked-in stars, though, two position battles carry real fantasy weight.
The Backfield: Dobbins, Harvey and Coleman
J.K. Dobbins re-signed with Denver after a 2025 season cut short by injury, and he enters camp as the presumptive lead back. But Payton has never been a one-back coach, and this year’s room gives him three distinct options. RJ Harvey, now in his second season, is the accomplished pass-catcher; Jonah Coleman, a fourth-round rookie, is the between-the-tackles banger.
Coleman himself summed up the dynamic after Denver drafted him. “You ultimately have a three-headed monster in the run game,” he said, according to the Broncos’ official camp preview. “I believe that’s where it starts, in the trenches.” Payton echoed the sentiment through the offseason, stressing the need for consistency in the run game after Denver’s rushing output cratered following Dobbins’ Week 10 injury last season.
The numbers from 2025 explain why Denver isn’t handing the job to one player. Dobbins ran for 772 yards on 5.0 yards per carry in just 10 games before going down. Harvey, working mostly as a rookie change-of-pace option, still piled up 12 total touchdowns and nearly 900 all-purpose yards.
| Running Back | 2025 Role | 2025 Production | 2026 Camp Projection |
|---|---|---|---|
| J.K. Dobbins | Lead back (10 games) | 772 rush yards, 5.0 YPC | Early-down starter |
| RJ Harvey | Rookie change-of-pace | 12 total TDs, ~900 all-purpose yards | Third-down/passing-game role |
| Jonah Coleman | Rookie, not yet in NFL | 1,100+ scrimmage yards in each of final three college seasons | Short-yardage/goal-line candidate |
ESPN’s camp preview frames Dobbins as the clear starter but notes Coleman’s early physicality and pass-protection ability could “impact how the non-Dobbins snaps get distributed” — and could even push a holdover back off the 53-man roster entirely, according to ESPN. For fantasy purposes, that’s the swing factor. If Dobbins keeps the goal-line work along with early-down volume, he’s a dependable RB2 with spike-week upside. If Coleman starts stealing short-yardage carries, Dobbins’ touchdown equity — and his fantasy ceiling — takes a real hit.
The Real Sleeper Battle: WR3 and the Engram Wild Card
Waddle and Sutton aren’t going anywhere at the top of the depth chart. The interesting fight is for the targets behind them, and Marvin Mims Jr. has been the story of camp so far. Mims turned a Nix scramble into a 50-yard touchdown during team drills, one of several highlight-reel plays detailed in ESPN’s camp intel updates. Asked how he’ll divide up targets in a crowded room, Payton brought up Mims unprompted: “Just reliability, consistency, I mean, I’ve said this before about Mims … I just feel like, man, more touches.”
Mims has now strung together big plays through multiple practices. Broncos.com reporter Aric DiLalla noted on X on August 1, 2026 that Mims “keeps getting open and keeps making plays” — a claim echoed across multiple camp reports. Mims has never topped 40 percent of Denver’s offensive snaps in a season, per the Denver Gazette, but camp buzz suggests that could change in 2026 as he pushes for a role beyond punt returns.
Pat Bryant is making this anything but a one-man race. The second-year receiver has caught touchdowns from both Nix and backup Jarrett Stidham in team drills, including a 40-plus-yard score on Day 2 and a back-shoulder grab off coverage from Riley Moss on Day 3, according to Mile High Report’s camp coverage. Payton has praised Bryant’s poise, saying he plays with more of the feel of a veteran than a second-year player.
Then there’s Evan Engram. Even though he’s technically a tight end, Payton has already called him a potential “big asset,” pointing to a 60-yard connection with Stidham on the first day of padded practice. Engram’s ability to work the middle of the field against linebackers and safeties gives Nix another high-floor target, especially on third down, regardless of how the outside battle shakes out.
- Marvin Mims Jr. — Speed-based big-play threat, trending toward expanded route diversity under new OC Davis Webb.
- Pat Bryant — Contested-catch specialist drawing praise for veteran-level poise as a second-year player.
- Evan Engram — Not part of the WR3 race technically, but a direct competitor for the same third-down and middle-of-field targets.
What It Means for Fantasy Drafts
None of this is settled, and it shouldn’t be treated as settled. Payton’s history says he’ll ride the hot hand and mix packages rather than lock into a strict hierarchy — that’s the pattern in both the backfield and the receiver room. For drafters, that argues for discounting the acquisition cost on Dobbins slightly given the real chance Coleman chips into his goal-line share, while treating Harvey as a PPR-friendly value in the passing-down role he’s already carved out.
At receiver, Mims looks like one of the better late-round fliers in the league right now given the volume of explosive plays piling up in camp, with Bryant not far behind as a red-zone-leaning complement. Both remain behind Waddle and Sutton on the depth chart, but a crowded room with this much juice generally means real touches to go around, not just token snaps.
