As the eve of the 2026 NFL regular season approached, fantasy football managers across the world sorted over their draft steals and waiver wire pickups. From the ether, a low hum became a loud buzz. Here was Emmett Johnson, a fifth round rookie who'd landed with the Kansas City Chiefs. Ahead of him was a life-long platoon tailback, new addition Kenneth Walker III.

In a barren landscape for high-scoring tailbacks, the Chiefs had a diamond ready to be mined. After all, Johnson had been the Big Ten Running Back of the Year after gaining nearly 1,900 total yards in 12 games in his final season at Nebraska. Kansas City's offense had stalled with an ineffective run game in 2025; even if Walker was a hit, there would still be room for the first-year back to thrive. I even did a whole video about it!

This is not what happened. Johnson turned eight carries in his NFL debut against the Denver Broncos into only 24 rushing yards. He had 11 handoffs over the next five games. He failed to top 35 yards from scrimmage each game between Weeks 2 and 7. He was responsible for -22 rush yards over expected (RYOE) and averaged just 3.3 yards per carry.

Then, he got to face the Broncos again. This time, things were different.

Johnson's Week 8 performance was a "not wrong, just early" statement for the fantasy touts who'd hyped him up as a super sleeper. He wasn't just the beneficiary of a jailbreak on third and long. He turned five targets into nearly 130 receiving yards. He had a single carry, and it was incredible.

But Johnson wasn't the only late round rookie who cemented his place on fantasy rosters and AFC West depth charts.

Jonah Coleman matched Emmett Johnson's Week 8 running back breakthrough

Jonah Coleman had similar hype coming into 2026 after being a fourth round pick for the Broncos out of Washington. He was beginning to hit his stride when a Week 2 injury landed him on injured reserve. He returned in Week 7 to emerge as Sean Payton's top tailback in a nine-carry, 54-yard performance against the Arizona Cardinals. Still, showing out in a small sample size against an NFC also-ran was one thing. How would he do in a pivotal matchup against the Chiefs and their top six rushing defense?

Pretty well, it turns out.

Coleman led Denver in both rushing AND receiving yards Sunday. He set up, then scored, the game-winning touchdown -- albeit against a Kansas City defense that realized there were some upsides for letting the Broncos score quickly late in the game.

He finished with 104 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown along with four catches. In Week 8, a showdown between two contenders with veteran stars wound up defined by the performance of two Day 3 rookie draft picks. That's big news for both the Chiefs and Broncos -- and a welcome explosion for fantasy owners that had held onto Johnson and Coleman waiting for their sleeper picks to break through.