ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- After conducting a deep dive for information, watching hours of game film and crunching the numbers, the Denver Broncos concluded that UCF's RJ Harvey was the best running back not named Ashton Jeanty in the 2025 NFL draft. So when they were ready to make their second-round pick (No. 60 overall) on Day 2 of the draft, the decision was easy.
"Harvey -- [he] was kind of our pet cat throughout the process," Broncos general manager George Paton said. "His running style, he's dynamic, really good vision, really good instincts, really good contact balance, highly explosive. We thought maybe he had the best vision in the draft."
Much of the discussion about the Broncos' offense this offseason has centered around coach Sean Payton's search for the "joker" -- the runner-receiver hybrid that was featured in many of his seasons with the New Orleans Saints -- and increasing the effectiveness of the run game.
But the Broncos also had to replace running back Javonte Williams, who signed with Dallas. Denver entered the draft with Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime atop the depth chart. Williams averaged a paltry 3.7 yards per carry in 2024 despite having an offensive line which led the league in run block win rate (74.9%), but he still led the Broncos in carries (139), rushing yards (513) and rushing touchdowns (four) last season. Williams was also second on the team with 52 receptions.
Enter Harvey, who was recruited to Virginia as a quarterback before transferring to play four seasons at running back for UCF. He is coming off back-to-back seasons of more than 1,400 rushing yards (including 1,577 in 2024) and averaged 6.5 yards per carry in his college career. Harvey takes care of the ball, too, with just one lost fumble among his 252 touches last season.
"I feel I can do it all," Harvey said. "I can catch the ball out of the backfield, I can run it in space, and I'm ready to just showcase all my skills. I'm excited."
Harvey joins the Broncos' other rookies along with some additional tryout players this weekend at Denver's rookie minicamp. It will serve as the official introduction to the team's offseason program, which began in the days before the draft.
Payton and the Broncos were intrigued by Harvey early in the predraft process to the point where the coach didn't want any of the Broncos' decision-makers to tip their interest in the 5-foot-9, 208-pound back.
"You really just try to just go through each one with an open mind. ... I can't remember what afternoon [specifically], but I can remember the two hours on this player," Payton said. "And then it was like, 'Alright, be quiet' and that was hard ... someone put his name in an article as a riser and you don't want to read that, but he was explosive."
Explosive is not a word that has been used to describe the Broncos' running game of late. But Harvey finished second in the FBS to Jeanty last season in number of 10-plus-yard rushes (54), and he had 32 carries of at least 15 yards. His 4.4-second time in the 40-yard dash at the combine was third fastest among running backs who ran.
But even more than that, the Broncos liked how Harvey saw plays develop in front of him.
"The very first thing you see in the evaluation is his running ability," Payton said. "I heard comparisons to [former Saints running back] Darren Sproles. ... So contact balance, vision."
Like Sproles, Reggie Bush and Alvin Kamara did in New Orleans, the Broncos believe Harvey will grow into Payton's passing game. That involves some projection, as Harvey combined for only 61 receptions in his final three seasons, never catching more than 22 passes in a season in that span.
But the Broncos reviewed all of Harvey's receptions and took special note of his work in the position drills at the combine and his on-campus pro day. They saw the traits necessary for him to transition into their passing attack.
"You can see it, his ability to get in and out, his ability to catch, you can see his instincts, the pass game," Paton said. "He had a lot of big plays in the pass game. You just don't see all the routes and you can see those at the pro day, and we think he can keep going like this and really in pass protection he can improve as well, like all these college runners."
For Harvey's part, he'd like to be the guy who's ready for the ball if Payton writes "Run It!" on his play sheet again, as he did in a December game against the Chargers.
"He has a great reputation for having great running backs," Harvey said. "I'm just excited to get into his system and just do whatever I can to help my team move the ball down the field and score touchdowns."