When the Denver Broncos drafted RJ Harvey out of UCF with their second-round selection, many were surprised at how high the former high school quarterback went. Harvey is older for a rookie, turning 25 in early February, and was not a household name in college football. Once the initial shock cooled from his drafting, the interest in how he would fare in Sean Payton's system immediately grew.
Right off the bat, Harvey in Denver drew comparison to Darren Sproles during his time with Payton, which featured a 1300 scrimmage yard season that featured nine total scores. No one expected that level of production from Harvey off the bat, but the mold is clearly there. The Broncos appeared to be easing Harvey into a workload as the season went on, but a season-ending injury to JK Dobbins ended those plans fairly quickly. Harvey is now the Broncos' starter, and they need him to produce.
Harvey isn't expected to replicate the production of Dobbins, who was top-five in the league in rushing before his injury, especially considering they're incredibly different styles of players. The overall body of work for Harvey has been somewhat underwhelming over his past two games. He has totaled just 112 total scrimmage yards, but he seemingly has found his strength: he has quickly become a scoring machine for the Broncos.
Broncos rookie RJ Harvey showed his knack for scoring in Denver's Week 13 primetime win
In the 2023 season, the running backs of the Denver Broncos accounted for just nine total touchdowns. In a Sean Payton offense, you typically see two running backs who can easily score the football, whether it be through the air or on the ground. Somehow, the Broncos managed to win eight games with backs who couldn't score. Through 12 games, Harvey has scored eight touchdowns himself.
Harvey has found himself a nice role with the Broncos and Payton: a redzone demon who creates insane matchups against linebackers and safeties. When matched up with safeties, Harvey has the weight and strength to run them over, just like he did on Sunday in Washington. When he has a linebacker in coverage, his speed and agility create a brutal matchup that has resulted in his four receiving touchdowns this year.
When Dobbins was healthy, Harvey was growing into one of the stronger complementary backs in football. The same way that the likes of Kenny Gainwell have done through the last few years of his career, especially this year in Pittsburgh, Harvey is a back whose strengths are more likely as a receiver, but he has the raw talent and skills to be effective on the ground.
In this new role of his, Harvey needs to produce more for the Broncos. His yardage totals could probably be better, and some of his initial reads when handed the ball in the backfield have been subpar. Despite this, Harvey has found the endzone a team-leading eight times, and is on pace to be the first Broncos running back with double-digit touchdowns since Melvin Gordon had ten in 2021.
If Harvey continues to take advantage of his newfound chances, he could find himself with 12 touchdowns, something that no running back has achieved since Knowshon Moreno in the 2013 season.