The Denver Broncos had a clear focus heading into the 2025 NFL Draft. After finishing the 2024 season with the best defense in the league, per PFSN’s Defense+ metric, head coach Sean Payton wanted to improve the offense around rookie quarterback Bo Nix.
After adding tight end Evan Engram as the “Joker” he wanted, the next biggest need for the Broncos was adding a run game around Nix after the team finished with one of the worst ground games in the entire league. Enter RJ Harvey, the Broncos’ second-round pick, who already has his sights set very high.
RJ Harvey Has Bold Statement About His Career
A four-year career for the UCF Knights saw Harvey improve every single season, finishing with career stats of over 3,500 rushing yards and 43 rushing touchdowns. After selecting cornerback Jahdae Barron in the first round, Denver addressed its RB need by selecting Harvey with the 60th overall pick.
The potential week one starter has a heavy load to carry for a Broncos team that will be looking to improve on its season from last year, when they were knocked out in the Wild Card Round by the Buffalo Bills.
Harvey is setting his sights high, too. Per Broncos beat reporter Zac Stevens, “RJ Harvey watched film with Sean Payton and they were watching Darren Sproles and Alvin Kamara. ‘I want to be better than those guys.I want to make an immediate impact.’”
RJ Harvey watched film with Sean Payton and they were watching Darren Sproles and Alvin Kamara.
“I want to be better than those guys”
“I want to make an immediate impact”
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) May 10, 2025
Both Sproles and Kamara are two of the most exciting running backs in recent NFL history. Sproles, who was drafted in 2005 and had a 15-year career in the NFL, was a member of the 2010s All-Decade team. Kamara, a 2017 draftee, has already established himself as one of the premier running backs in the game with a plethora of accolades to his name.
Between them, the two have three All-Pro selections and eight Pro Bowl selections. While Kamara has the most rushing touchdowns ever recorded in an NFL game with six, Sproles broke the record for most all-purpose yards in a season in 2011.
Regardless of the metric, the two running backs have been among the best over the last two decades, with close to 30,000 total yards between the duo. Harvey, however, has his sights set incredibly high for what he wants to achieve in the league.
On the Broncos, he’ll have ample opportunities as the team tries to diversify an offense that ranked in the bottom half of the league at 17th on PFSN’s Offense+ metric last season.