Sean Payton doesn’t sound like a coach about to trade for a RB

Sean Payton made it clear that the Broncos backfield isn't a problem he feels the front office has to solve

Nov 4, 2026, 3:28 PM

Watch: How aggressive should the Broncos be at the NFL trade deadline? | Shapiro and Piro | 22 mins

Jonathan Taylor’s name has been attached to the Denver Broncos for nearly a week, and the trade deadline is six days away. On Wednesday, Sean Payton made it clear the Broncos backfield isn’t a problem he feels he has to solve.

“That’s not a hot button topic with us here,” Payton said. “Might be with you guys, but not with us. So we’re good. We’re good with the rotation.”

But Payton also left the door open.

“There’s buyers and sellers, and it’s been more noticeable in the last five years, or at least I noticed it more, the teams that are playing well and poorly,” he said. “We’re a team that’s playing better, so we’re not looking to sell.”

So the Broncos aren’t selling, and their coach says the running backs are fine. Those two answers don’t rule out a move before the Nov. 10 deadline. Maybe at another position but most around the sport expect the Broncos to look at a back.

Payton first started about his veteran J.K. Dobbins, who has been healthy enough to play all season. Yet his production has dropped compared to where it was last year. He only has 306 yards through eight games compared to the 772 he had in 10 contests last fall. Payton still has Dobbins back.

“Listen, he’s a huge part of what we’re doing,” Payton said. “So each week, we look at a lot of times who’s the back that’s in there with a hot hand. But he’s been fantastic.”

He didn’t really say if Denver was or wasn’t looking at a back but he did bring up the point of an already crowded backfield by bodies.

“It’s always easy to work two, and it becomes more challenging when you’re trying to work three,” Payton said of Dobbins. “But he’s doing a great job.”

Denver has used three backs this season, with rookie rookie Jonah Coleman taking on more work as the weeks go by. RJ Harvey is on short-term injured reserve after hurting his knee in practice last week. That leaves Dobbins and Coleman as the two healthy options. Adding Taylor or Tennessee’s Tony Pollard would give Denver three backs again, and Payton just said that’s harder to manage.

Where many felt the Broncos couldn’t make a run without adding a back maybe even a week ago, Coleman has changed that thinking for some. In Denver, Payton has liked Coleman for ages. In Sunday’s 28-24 win over Kansas City, Coleman had 11 carries for 41 yards and a touchdown and caught four passes for 63 yards. One of those catches was a 51-yard catch-and-run that set up his go-ahead score with under two minutes left.

“We had those glimpses in the spring and in training camp and in the preseason, Atlanta,” Payton said. “There was a run. It just stood out to you.”

Payton said the bigger selling point in the draft was something most rookie running backs can’t show: pass protection.

“Oftentimes you don’t get to see them in third-down protection plans. But he was someone that we had quite a bit of tape on,” Payton said. “Advanced protection plans, and he’s built to handle the blitz. And it’s one thing to know who I have, but then also to be strong enough to do it.”

He also praised Coleman’s hands, saying, “He’s got good ball skills.” He said Coleman is “a different type player than R.J.”

Payton said Denver had three running backs it “really had visions for” in that draft. One was Emmett Johnson, who had 128 receiving yards for Kansas City on Sunday. Payton said the Broncos felt more confident about Coleman because of how much they’d seen.

“There was the exposure in an offense that sometimes the player just doesn’t have,” he said. “So you can’t know for sure. And I think we knew a little bit more with his tape.”

Even if they’re set at back, Payton said he and general manager George Paton talk every day as the deadline approaches.

“We meet in the evening. The GMs all talk with each other, but there’s a daily visit,” Payton said. “It’s not consuming, like two hours. His group is spending a lot of time on their evaluations, and we’re doing football, but we’ll visit daily about a bunch of things.”

Payton says Denver is fine — the question is does the coach truly believe that or is this a public negotiation tactic? Coleman’s wildcard week has made it harder to read the Broncos.