RJ Harvey wasted no time showing why Denver sees him as more than just a rookie running back.
The former UCF standout turned in another eye-catching preseason moment on Friday night, turning a wheel route out of the backfield into a 21-yard receiving touchdown after slipping past a linebacker and cruising into the end zone. It was the kind of play that fits the profile of what makes Harvey so dangerous: he can hurt defenses as a runner, but his receiving ability already makes him a problem.
Broncos quarterback Bo Nix didn’t hold back when asked about the rookie after the game, calling Harvey a "special" player. Nix pointed to Harvey’s pass-catching as one of his best traits and said he has been impressed by that part of his game since Denver drafted him.
That praise comes with good reason. Harvey was one of the most productive rookies in the class and wasted little time carving out a real role in Denver’s backfield. As a rookie, he scored 12 touchdowns, with seven coming on the ground.
His final touchdown of the season came against the Kansas City Chiefs, and it came in dramatic fashion. Harvey scored for a fifth straight game and delivered the eventual game-winner. On Denver’s game-winning drive, he ripped off an 11-yard run from the Broncos’ 44-yard line to get the offense into Kansas City territory, then added 14 more yards before Denver faced a 4th and 2 at the two-minute warning.
That’s when head coach Sean Payton made the call to go for it, putting Harvey in the wildcat for the biggest snap of the night. Harvey helped force an offsides penalty from six-time Pro Bowler Chris Jones with a hard count, then followed with another carry that moved Denver to the one-yard line.
On 3rd and goal, Nix rolled right with Harvey running a flat route toward the front corner of the end zone. Nix held the ball long enough for Harvey to adjust, and the rookie stopped on a dime in the back of the end zone to haul in the game-winning score.
Afterward, Nix marveled at the rookie’s feel for the game.
"Very savvy move by him. You can tell he's been in my shoes before," Nix said.
"He knows what its like to find space. He's just a really savvy football player.
He does things a lot that you know, sort of unteachable... He'll do stuff like that all the time."
With J.K. Dobbins also in the mix, Harvey gives Payton the kind of backfield versatility the coach likes to build around. Payton has long valued running backs who can do damage as receivers, and Harvey already looks like a natural fit for that approach.
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The expectations are not coming from nowhere. Barnett already proved he can steer a team into the College Football Playoff, and his profile has only risen since then with recognition on major preseason watch lists. For Frost, that creates a familiar kind of pressure: the kind that comes with having a quarterback whose ceiling is obvious and whose next step will be measured against the biggest stages he has already reached. [Read more 🡒]