Jonah Coleman Scouting Report

Jonah Coleman is a strong, sturdy back who relies on vision, running with power, and contact balance to be a productive back in the NFL.

Draft Grade: Round 3 - Adequate Starter

Strengths:

Vision: Coleman has high-end vision. He’s able to find open holes but can also set up defenders and create openings on the second level.

Contact Balance: Coleman has a dense lower half that allows him to absorb contact by defenders and remain balanced to pick up yards.

Lateral Agility: Coleman does a good job of breaking down and making lateral cuts to evade defenders.

Pass Protection: Coleman shows that he is willing to set up in pass pro and take on blitzers. Coleman is tough and will seek collisions to protect the quarterback.

Concerns:

Top-End Speed: Coleman appears to have a limit on his top-end speed. He is often caught from behind in the open field.

Pass Catcher: Coleman is a limited route runner with a cap on his overall athleticism. This will impact his overall impact in the passing game as a receiving threat out of the backfield.

Jonah Coleman Summary/Projection:

Jonah Coleman is a senior draft prospect who originally began his collegiate career at the University of Arizona before transferring to Washington for the 2024 season. Coleman became an instant positive impact for the Washington Huskies offensively, rushing for over 1,000 yards in the 2024 season. Coleman, as a running back prospect, possesses a thick lower half for power and balance, but also possesses high-end instincts that come with vision and the ability to make people miss in the open field and pick up extra yardage.

Evaluating Coleman, he has a good process as a running back that leads to his success. From the snap, Coleman does a good job of surveying the line of scrimmage, scanning for any creases and any opportunities to hit the hole quickly and pick up yards. Coleman has good overall vision and consistently finds opportunities. His eyes and feet are in sync, which allows him to get to any hole along the line of scrimmage using lateral maneuvers like jump cuts. Once through the hole, Coleman is a quick accelerator and gets to the second level quickly. On the second level, he can stick his foot in the ground to make a defender miss, but more often, he decides to lower his pad level and run through initial contact. With his low pad level and good overall contact balance, Coleman can power through smaller defenders, and it often takes multiple attempts to bring him down. In the open field, Coleman reaches top-end speed quickly and attempts to outrun defenders or finish runs by lowering his pads, finishing with a physical nature to his runs. Overall, Coleman’s process as a runner is effective and efficient, and more often than not, he is a runner who will find a way to pick up positive yards offensively, keeping an offense ahead of the chains.

In the passing game, Coleman is most effective as a back who can catch passes on swing routes or traditional routes for running backs out of the backfield. Coleman is neither a top-end route runner nor has the speed to outrun defenders vertically up the field, but he can develop into a reliable back catching short passes out of the backfield. Coleman also shows well in pass protection, in that he will help chip defenders on his way into a route or can pick up blitzing defenders effectively to help protect the quarterback.

Coleman’s concerns as a prospect surround his overall athleticism and the impact it has. Coleman appears to have limited speed in the open field, which results in defenders being able to track him down. This limits the opportunity for explosive plays and Coleman’s ability to finish off runs with the potential to be long touchdowns. His overall athleticism affects him in the passing game as well, in that he may not consistently be able to get separation from defenders on routes, which may limit his overall impact in the passing game.