Jaylen Waddle or Jonah Coleman: Who Should You Start?
Preliminary board2026 Week 3 · deterministic head-to-head · Verdicts based on PPR scoring.
Verdicts sharpen as practice reports land.
Start Waddle — the projection and consensus rank edges are too wide to ignore.
Jaylen Waddle projects 13.1 to Coleman's 1.7 and is the higher consensus play (WR21 to RB50). No signal favors Coleman this week. The gap is wide.
Jaylen Waddle
8.110.613.1 Projected Points
Jonah Coleman
1.21.41.7 Projected Points
Jaylen Waddle’s market
Jonah Coleman’s market
Why Jaylen Waddle
Toss-UpStarting WR2 with elite separation speed. Twitchy route runner and vertical threat working opposite the X.
Toss-up — WR21 by consensus and projection: 23% target share, 13.1 PPR projected vs LAR.
- LAR ranks 13 of 32 against WRs (a middle-of-the-road matchup, 2-game sample).
- Vegas implies 21.3 team points as 3.0-point underdogs.
- Listed WR on the latest depth chart with a 68% snap share.
Latest on Waddle
Jaylen Waddle was heavily featured in Denver's win, catching eight passes for 138 yards.
Newcomers Jaylen Waddle, Jonah Coleman lead Broncos to winESPN · Sep 22, 2026“You can see the explosiveness, the run after the catch, all of those things,” Head Coach Sean Payton said. “I’m glad he’s ours.”
Jeff Legwold explains how Jaylen Waddle's presence could create more opportunities for the Broncos' other receivers.
Reported by the sources listed — not independently verified.
Why Jonah Coleman
SitRookie RB3 and depth back. Compact, physical runner with no NFL regular-season sample yet.
Sit — bench-tier RB at consensus RB50: LAR is the 11th-toughest matchup vs RBs, 5% target share.
- LAR ranks 11 of 32 against RBs (one of the tougher matchups, 2-game sample).
- Vegas implies 21.3 team points as 3.0-point underdogs.
- Listed RB on the latest depth chart with a 23% snap share.
Latest on Coleman
Jonah Coleman became Denver's primary ball carrier in the second half.
RB Jonah Coleman nominated for NFL Rookie of the Week following Week 2 win over Jaguarsdenverbroncos.com, ESPN, Yahoo Sports (via SI/OnSI) · Sep 22, 2026With injuries to J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey, the Denver Broncos are looking at the week ahead before determining which running back will be ready for Sunday night's game against the Los Angeles Rams.
“Kind of felt like it was really a tale of two halves,” Head Coach Sean Payton said after the Broncos’ 20-13 win over the Jaguars.
Reported by the sources listed — not independently verified.
Head-to-head stats
| Metric | Jaylen Waddle | Jonah Coleman |
|---|---|---|
| Projected points | 8.110.613.1 | 1.21.41.7 |
| Consensus rank | WR21 | RB50 |
| Opponent vs position | LAR · 13 of 322-game sample | LAR · 11 of 322-game sample |
| Receptions | 7 of 32 | 20 of 32 |
| Receiving Yards | 7 of 32 | 12 of 32 |
| Receiving TDs | 22 of 32 | — |
| Targets | 5 of 32 | — |
| Anytime TD | 22 of 32 | 1 of 32 |
| Rushing Yards | — | 17 of 32 |
| Rushing TDs | — | 1 of 32 |
| Rushing Attempts | — | 15 of 32 |
| Target share | 23% | 5% |
| Reception share | 23% | 8% |
| Implied total · spread | 21.3+3.0 | 21.3+3.0 |
| Depth chart | WR1 | RB3 |
| Snap share | 68% | 23% |
| Start/Sit record | 1–0 | — |
Recent form
Jaylen Waddle — last 2 weeks
| Week 2 | vs JAX | 13.817.821.8 |
| Week 1 | vs KC | 0.20.71.2 |
Jonah Coleman — last 2 weeks
| Week 2 | vs JAX | 11.813.314.8 |
| Week 1 | vs KC | 0.00.00.0 |
Signal breakdown
- 13.1 vs 1.7 projected PPR pointsJaylen Waddle +
- Rank 21 vs 50Jaylen Waddle +
- Opponent DvP rank 13 vs 11 (32 = softest)even
- Implied 21.3 vs 21.3 team pointseven
- No injury designationseven
- 68% vs 23% snap shareJaylen Waddle +
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