Lots of love for the Broncos’ second-round running back choice in RJ Harvey

Analysts seem to like the R.J. Harvey as much as George Paton and Sean Payton.

Good morning, Broncos Country!

University of Central Florida running back R.J. Harvey was not on the immediate radar of too many Broncos fans.

Sure, the draftniks knew of him, but few linked him to Denver. The prevailing wisdom heading into the first round, of course, was that Denver would take a top running back or tight end and by the time the team might choose to take another back (if at all), a guy like Harvey wouldn’t be around.

But Sean Payton and George Paton had other ideas. With Ashton Jeanty, Colston Loveland and Emeka Egbuka off the board, Denver went with the best player available — and by all accounts, a top-10 footballer — saving running back for the next round.

At No. 60, the Broncos would go after the 5-foot-8, 205-pound tree trunk known for his vision, pass-catching skills and impressive burst.

“I feel [like] I can do it all,” Harvey said in his first presser after the Draft. “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 to [Broncos Country]. I’m excited. [Broncos Country], I’m excited.”

But Harvey’s excitement may be matched by several NFL analysts weighing in on this pairing with an offensive-minded coach who loves him some running backs.

Payton said it had become pretty clear during the pre-Draft process that the Broncos weren’t going to be in the running for Jeanty, so they went through tape on every back to see “where they could fall in love with somebody” else.

It was very clearly Harvey.

“After two hours on this player, it was ‘alright, be quiet,’” because they had found their guy, Payton said.

“The very first thing you see in the evaluation is his running ability,” Payton added. “But when you look at the running skill set, it was, ‘wow.’ Explosive runs, all of those things. Then you begin to study the passing game stuff, and he’s got soft hands.”

Although Harvey’s pass-catching ability is a big plus, George Paton noted that it was Harvey’s vision that really made him stand out on tape.

“His running style, he’s dynamic, really good vision, really good instincts, really good contact balance, highly explosive,” Paton said. “We thought maybe he had the best vision in the draft. Home run ability.”

There was a time not long ago that Harvey wasn’t even imagining getting drafted as an NFL team’s running back. Playing quarterback all through PeeWee and high school football, Harvey was set on playing QB at Central Florida too.

But they had other plans.

“Yes, at first it was pretty difficult because my whole life I played quarterback,” Harvey said. “I played quarterback all throughout my life and all throughout high school, got to UCF and had to change my position. They actually recruited me as a running back, but I was just so stuck on thinking that I’m a quarterback, but you know… I’m happy that I made the right move.”

You know who else is happy he made that move? NFL running back free agent Chase Edmunds.

“I absolutely love this guy. You talk about juice, you talk about ability to get skinny, to get outside…Broncos Country, let me tell you something right now, get your kool aid ready because this brother is bringing the juice. ‘Real Juice RJ Harvey. He is a dog.”

Broncos/NFL News

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