The Denver Broncos had barely finished celebrating a fourth-quarter comeback against the Kansas City Chiefs before the chatter around the team drifted toward a running back who suits up for somebody else.

Late Sunday night, Zac Stevens, who covers the Broncos for DNVR Sports, said he believes Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is Denver’s top trade option at the position.

He put Taylor ahead of the New York Jets’ Breece Hall, who Stevens said had also drawn serious interest from the team. His remarks came not long after rookie Jonah Coleman’s 5-yard touchdown run with 1:56 left lifted the Broncos to a 28-24 win.

However, not everyone was ready to roll out the welcome mat for Taylor, and the reaction was mixed, with the skeptics holding up Coleman as a reason Denver may not need to spend assets to upgrade the running back room.

Zac Stevens Believes Broncos Will Push Hard for Jonathan Taylor

Stevens’ read landed on a market that was already moving.

Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport reported Saturday, citing sources, that Denver was among the teams believed to have shown interest in trading for Taylor, a list that also featured the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants.

Taylor has carried the ball 148 times through Week 8, and his 610 rushing yards rank eighth in the NFL, while his eight rushing touchdowns are tied for second. PFN’s NFL RB Impact Grade has him at 80.8 through Week 8, 10th of 45 graded running backs.

Taylor’s most recent extension was a two-year, $44 million deal signed in August that keeps him under contract through the 2028 season.

Stevens laid out the pecking order between the two running backs he says Denver has eyed: “The Broncos were very interested in Breece Hall, but I do believe Jonathan Taylor is their 1A plan.”

The timeline he described, though, was anything but leisurely. “I believe the Broncos are going to do everything in their power to trade for Jonathan Taylor. This could happen at any moment,” Stevens said, adding, “The Broncos are going to try to pull this trade off, from my understanding. They want Jonathan Taylor now.”

On the eager side of the ledger, NFL writer John Frascella boiled the news down to four words: “Broncos really want JT!”

KOA Colorado radio host Anthony Rodriguez, meanwhile, turned his attention to the Vikings, one of the other teams reported in the mix, and to Broncos head coach Sean Payton: “It would be absolute gold if Sean Payton was able to pump fake the Vikings twice, wouldn’t it?”

Could Jonah Coleman Solve The Broncos’ Problems

The case against a deal started closer to home, and FantasyPros writer Evan Tarracciano questioned the logic: “Why they would feel the need to sign Taylor is a little odd, considering Coleman just gave them their best rushing performance on the season and he’s under a rookie contract. Plus the presence of Dobbins and Harvey when he returns.”

By rushing yards, though, Coleman’s 41 on 11 carries Sunday trailed the 54 he posted at the Arizona Cardinals a week earlier. The Broncos’ 77 rushing yards as a team also fell well short of the 159 they piled up in Arizona.

Still, Coleman was in the middle of the finish. Denver trailed 24-13 through three quarters, and beyond the winning run, he led the team with 63 receiving yards on four catches, including a 51-yarder. Through Week 8, he has 134 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 30 carries.

As for the rest of the room Tarracciano mentioned, veteran J.K. Dobbins carried seven times for 13 yards Sunday. RJ Harvey, who has 304 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns this season, went on injured reserve Saturday with a knee injury. Harvey will miss at least four games, Sunday’s included, and with no Week 10 game on Denver’s schedule, he can return no sooner than Week 13.

One fan made the rookie’s case in fewer words: “Jonah Coleman would like a word.”

For now, with Harvey on injured reserve, Coleman and Dobbins lead the backfield. If Stevens’ sense of the timing holds, that group could look different by the time the Broncos visit the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Nov. 8.