Jonah Coleman appears to be on the fast track.
The rookie running back logged 14 snaps Friday night at Atlanta and drew rave reviews from head coach Sean Payton.
When Denver hit the practice field again on Monday, the praise for Coleman was no less notable from the head coach.
After Coleman’s fourth carry, a 7-yard gain with 47 seconds left in the first quarter and the starting offensive line still in the game, Payton had seen enough.
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There was a point, I think he had (four carries), and, ‘Alright, I’ve seen enough.’ I’ve seen enough (at practice). Itap just your instincts relative to the evening and who’s playing.
“I didn’t need to see additional evidence of what I’ve been seeing for three weeks.”
Coleman is trending toward being a real part of Denver’s running back rotation with J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey from the outset of this season. Exactly how heavy a workload the Broncos ask Dobbins to carry out of the gate and also who earns third-down and two-minute work between Harvey and Coleman will go a long way in determining how many snaps Coleman sees early on, but he’s impressed so far.
“Good balance. Real good elusive runner for his size,” Payton said. “I’d say good short-area quickness, good balance and the other night we had a few examples of that.”
There have already been comparisons drawn stature-wise between Coleman and long-time NFL standout Maurice Jones-Drew, though Payton wasn’t willing to go that far just yet.
“I’m not ready to comp a young player that early, but I like his balance,” Payton said. “You don’t feel a young player at practice.”
Good day on the injury front. The Broncos got a pair of key players back to practice Monday in wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and center Alex Forsyth.
Waddle missed all of last week with a muscle strain, but looked like a full participant on Monday.
“We’ve got a lot of time still,” Payton said of working the receiver back into the offensive rhythm. “We’ve got good work this week, this weekend. There’s been a lot of time on task already.
“We’re being smart with it and he’s coming along really good. We’ll see how this week unfolds.”
Others who returned to practice include TE Nate Adkins and guard Alex Palczewski.
Receiver Marvin Mims, Jr. and starting center Luke Wattenberg, meanwhile, were still on the side field but continue to make progress. Mims ran what looked like near full speed during his conditioning work on the side. Also on the side field: OLB Drew Sanders (had a sack in Friday’s game) and WR Michael Bandy.
Too early to tell on Levelle: ILB Levelle Bailey sustained a fracture in his lower leg Friday against Atlanta, sources told The Post over the weekend.
Asked if Payton thought Bailey had a chance to return at some point during the season, the coach said, “Too early to say. I think that’d be tough to answer right now.”
