With the injury to J.K. Dobbins, the Denver Broncos are leaning more on rookie running back RJ Harvey for the foreseeable future.
Dobbins sustained an foot injury that was initially thought to be season-ending, but it has since been revealed that the veteran running back has a chance to return this season.
Whatever the case may be, the Broncos will be handing the reins to the backfield to Harvey until Dobbins gets back, if that ever happens.
So far, the early returns have been underwhelming. Harvey has scored twice in the two games Dobbins has missed, but he's also got just 65 rushing yards on 24 carries, good enough for just 2.7 yards per carry.
But if you ask Broncos head coach Sean Payton, the best is yet to come.
“There’s that saying, ‘You haven’t seen anything yet,'" he said on Thursday, per Zac Stevens of TheDNVR.com, before adding that Harvey has a "rare running skillset."
Fantasy football managers will hope this means more touches for Harvey, who is now leading the backfield but has also ceded some work to fellow rusher Jaleel McLaughlin.
Harvey has posted 30 touches over the last two weeks, while McLaughlin has taken 14. Harvey hasn't exactly been starved for work, but we would like to see him get more, both on the ground and through the air.
Harvey's low yards-per-carry average is a bigger concern. The Broncos have one of the best run-blocking offensive lines in the NFL, as evidenced by the team ranking seventh in run-block win rate.
However, that hasn't translated to much success for Harvey like it did for Dobbins, who was averaging five yards per tote before his injury.
Based on what we know about Denver's run-blocking, it would appear that Harvey just needs to do a better job of finding holes to run through.
If he can do that, big things could indeed be ahead for the rookie running back.
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