Broncos Rookie Jonah Coleman’s NFL Debut Will Be 1st Game He’s Ever Been To

Denver Broncos running back Jonah Coleman will set foot in an NFL stadium for the first time this fall.

Coleman grew up playing football, but never got the opportunity to attend a game as a fan because his family could never afford it. When he made it to the University of Washington, he decided not to go to a game until he made it to the pros, despite being just blocks from Lumen Field in Seattle. He explained why in an appearance on the NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football.”

“I’m from Stockton, California. It’s near the Bay Area,” he said. “You had two sides of the family. So, my mom’s side was the 49er fans. Then my dad’s side was the Raider fans. So, I was with dad on that, sadly. I grew up being a Raider fan. Ultimately, just really couldn’t afford it, to go down there and watch a game and stuff like that. That’s why I’ve never been to a game or anything like that.”

Coleman spent his first two seasons at the University of Arizona before transferring to the University of Washington. UW’s campus was less than 15 minutes from Lumen Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks. But by that point, Coleman had already decided that he would wait until he could watch a pro game from the sidelines instead of the stands.

“I just felt like I wanted to experience my first one, the one that I actually play in,” he said. “And I challenged myself, like, ‘I’m not going to go to an NFL game until I make it to the NFL’ … obviously I was in Seattle, and the Seahawks were right there … I had opportunities to go, but it’s like, I want to experience the moment to myself and feel all the emotions and all the hard work paid off, because I still feel like this whole process is surreal to me. Like even now it’s still kind of hard to believe, and I feel like once I run out [of] that tunnel for the first time, that’s when I’m going to be able to feel it and take it all in.”

Coleman also talked about another impressive moment. In his first press gaggle at his locker during rookie minicamp, Coleman shook hands and introduced himself to each of the Broncos’ beat reporters.

“It’s just a respect thing. Even at Washington, I knew all the media people. I was always getting interviewed by them. And it’s always good to learn everybody’s name. I probably won’t remember everybody’s name, but I know that I introduced myself, and I can always remember that I’ve seen their face and stuff like that,” he said.

“And then it just goes to respect, like how you carry yourself on and off the field. You treat everybody with the utmost respect. The way you treat [head coach] Sean Payton, you should treat the janitor, and that’s kind of how I go and how I am, how I carry myself. So I felt like it was important for me to introduce myself to all the reporters.”

Coleman said he got that sense of respect from his father and from the values instilled in him at both of his college stops.

Coleman enters a loaded, experienced backfield, but one that needs his services. Veteran J.K. Dobbins was the team’s leading rusher with 153 carries for 772 yards and 4 touchdowns. Dobbins suffered a Lisfranc injury and played just 10 games before the injury ended his season. Speedy rookie R.J. Harvey performed well, finishing with 896 all-purpose yards and 12 total touchdowns, but the Broncos’ other running backs, Jaleel McLaughlin and Tyler Badie, are both 5-foot-8 and weigh less than 200 pounds.

Without a true thumper in the middle of the defense, the Broncos’ run game fell behind down the stretch, forcing them to rely on the passing game more. So, while Coleman is just a rookie, his size (5-foot-8, 220 pounds) sets him up early as a contributor in case of injury and an eventual replacement for Dobbins.