The Denver Broncos have high hopes for second-round pick RJ Harvey. The UCF product will likely have a large role in the offense, even with veteran J.K. Dobbins on the roster.
It's hard to say how much trust Sean Payton will put in Harvey, at least early on, as the head coach is notorious for preferring a committee approach at running back while also refraining from leaning too heavily on his rookies.
That didn't scare John Breech of CBS Sports away from making a bold prediction, picking Harvey to win this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Breech had the following to say in regards to his prediction:
"If there's one running back in this division who's going to get a lot of rookie of the year love, it's Ashton Jeanty (and maybe even Omarion Hampton), but I'm going to get crazy and predict that Harvey wins the award in 2025. Last year, I was laughed off the internet because I picked Bo Nix to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, but I was somewhat vindicated because he ended up finishing third in the vote.
The only reason I'm mentioning that is because I'm using the same logic as last year: I trust Sean Payton. He's an offensive-minded coach and and running backs can put up big numbers in his system. There's no coach out there who knows how to use a rookie running back more than Sean Payton. In 2006, Reggie Bush totaled 1,307 yards and eight touchdowns during a season with the Saints where he finished fifth in the rookie of the year voting. In 2011, Mark Ingram totaled 550 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie in New Orleans. In 2017, Alvin Kamara totaled 1,554 yards (826 receiving, 728 rushing) and 13 touchdowns on his way to winning rookie of the year.
If Sean Payton uses a first- or second-round pick on a running back, that means he likes the guy and he plans on using him. I fully expect Harvey to be one of the biggest surprises of the season."
This will be seen as a surprising choice, but they're not bold predictions for nothing. As Breech pointed out, readers scoffed at his Bo Nix prediction last year and if not for a monumentally great rookie season by Jayden Daniels, he may have been right.
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Harvey is in the same division as two highly-touted rookie running backs in Jeanty and Hampton, but Harvey plays in a better offensive system than both of them will. If Harvey were to win the award, he would join former Broncos running backs Mike Anderson (2000) and Clinton Portis (2002) to achieve the honor.
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