Broncos’ rookie running back RJ Harvey has had a productive rookie season thus far, but the presence of veteran JK Dobbins has held him back a little bit. Dobbins is among the league leaders in rushing and has been the lone consistent presence in the Denver Broncos’ offense this season; however, a foot injury suffered during last Thursday Night’s game vs. the Raiders is expected to sideline him for at least this Sunday’s game vs. the Chiefs. This is a major loss for the struggling Broncos offense,
but Harvey is the next man up, and Head Coach Sean Payton and the rest of his teammates have confidence in their explosive rookie running back.
Head Coach Sean Payton told reporters on Wednesday that they drafted Harvey due to his running skill set and added that he’s built (his frame) and that he is built to last, and that is important.
“When we drafted him, it was his running skillset, and he had a lot of touches. I was just kidding with him earlier. Then you have experience with a guy like Jaleel, who is explosive and has been champing at the bit. I think sometimes players are not held back, but when you are watching [WR] Pat Bryant grow right in front of our eyes and you’re starting to see that with RJ, and obviously he’ll have more opportunities here in this game. He’s built, when you see his frame, he’s built to last, and that’s important.”
Harvey has been making a lot of plays as a pass catcher for the Broncos, but his main skill set is as a runner. In college, he had 579 career carries while only having 61 career receptions. He is used to running the ball and being a bellcow back for an offense. In his final year at UCF, Harvey had 232 carries and was coming off a year where he had 262 carries.
With that said, Harvey has not been very productive as a runner for the Broncos. Through 10 games, he has just 50 carries for 214 yards and 2 rushing touchdowns and is averaging 4.3 yards per carry. His best games came in week 1 vs. the Titans, where he broke off a long run, against the bad Bengals defense, where he saw a season-high 14 carries, and again vs. the dreadful Cowboys defense, where he had a long touchdown run. Outside of those three games, there hasn’t been much productivity from Harvey on the ground.
- 4 carries for 9 yards vs. the Raiders
- 2 carries for 5 yards vs. the Texans
- 4 carries for 0 yards vs. the Giants
- 2 carries for 4 yards vs. the Jets
- 4 carries for 11 yards vs. the Eagles
- 2 carries for 2 yards vs. the Chargers
- 5 carries for 8 yards vs. the Colts
Even in his good games, most of his yardage came from one single run, while the rest of his carries have gone for very little.
While that is a little bit concerning, we have to keep in mind that Harvey has not been getting consistent touches to get into rhythm. He only has one game with double-digit carries, while the rest he has had 7 or fewer a game. On the year, he is averaging just 5 carries per game, and that is with the 14 carry game vs. the Bengals added in. So, while the production has not been great, he has yet to be given a consistent role in the backfield, and that is mostly due to JK Dobbins being very productive this season for the Broncos.
With Dobbins likely out, Harvey will have a chance to get into a rhythm vs. the Chiefs, and quarterback Bo Nix believes that the Broncos’ explosive rookie running back will get better as he gets more consistent carries in a game.
“Well you have to rely on what he’s done in the past. He was a great runner in college, already had some really good runs this year. So honestly, the more carries he gets, probably the better he’ll be. We know what he can do out of the backfield, but we’re excited to see him. I guess situation calls for him to take the next step and he looked really good today at practice. I think you just see the confidence growing more and more each week and for a young guy that’s all it comes down to is confidence, believing that you belong here, knowing that you know you’re the best one on the field and you can go out there and show it. I think he’s just going to continue to find his way. Whether that’s running or catching, blocking, doesn’t matter. I think he’s a great team player and he can find a way to get it done for us.”
While Harvey is expected to see more time running the ball, we cannot ignore his abilities as a pass-catcher. He has been rather productive in that role for the Broncos and has 4 receiving touchdowns on the year. While he’ll be seeing more carries, expect the Broncos to continue to target him in the passing game vs. the Chiefs.
Veteran wide receiver Courtland Sutton was asked about Harvey’s receiving ability, and he told reporters that “we call that boy the ‘ATH’ (athlete)” and added that he’s not just a running back, that he’s special, and can do a little bit of everything.
“RJ is special. We call that boy the ‘ATH’. I’m sure in your profession, you can put together what that means. (Laughs) He’s not just a running back. He’s a very special dude. The dude can do a little bit of everything. The dude can run the ball obviously, but watching him catch the ball out of the backfield and catching and carrying. The thing that’s scary is that I feel like he’s barely scratching the surface of his potential of what he can do in the league. I think guys are just now seeing a little bit of what he’s capable of. He’s dangerous. The dude has incredible balance, incredible speed. You pair that up with a guy that can catch the ball out of the backfield, get matched up with a linebacker that can’t run as fast as him, it’s a dangerous combination. I’m looking forward to continuing to watch RJ flourish and develop and turn into the guy that we all know he can be, and he knows he can be.”
With Dobbins sidelined, the Broncos are going to need Harvey to have a breakout game vs. the Chiefs. We need to see that explosive play as a runner and receiver, and give the offense the spark it desperately needs at the moment. I believe we’ll see Jaleel McLaughlin a bit more in this game as well. Look for him to split time with Harvey in the backfield to give the Broncos another explosive slasher to carry the ball vs. the Chiefs.
The Broncos will need their running game to play well if they want to win this game, and if they do, it’ll take the ‘next man up’. They drafted Harvey for this role, and hopefully, he can come up big in a must-win game for the Broncos.
