After months of waiting, Denver Broncos fans finally got to see their rookie second-round pick in the team's preseason opener vs. the San Francisco 49ers. With the first-team offense, running back RJ Harvey carried the ball seven times for 25 yards (3.6 avg) and caught one of his two targets for four yards.
During the Broncos' 30-9 win over the 49ers (and in the aftermath), a legion of Chicken Littles expressed anxiety over Harvey's penchant for bouncing it outside on all of his carries. Our Erick Trickel examined the film and felt that Harvey's instincts and decision-making were justified.
On Tuesday, the Broncos got back to practice and afterward, head coach Sean Payton dismissed the notion that Harvey was wrong in his decision-making. There was one exception, where Payton wanted his explosive young running back to be a bit more patient.
“At the end of the day, the great skill set he has is that ability, speed-wise to," Payton said of Harvey bouncing it outside, "but he can get through the line of scrimmage the same way. There was one where we felt like, ‘Trust it, be a little bit more patient.’ He’s an extremely instinctive runner."
Those instincts were on display vs. the 49ers, as were the explosiveness and footspeed to beat defenders to the edge and turn the corner. Did it work out every time? No, but this is the NFL, after all. Everyone's fast.
With two more preseason games left to go, Payton knows that Harvey will be given plenty of additional opportunities to test his patience and trust the vision of the play-call and the blocking upfront before sticking his foot in the turn, and exploding downhill through the hole.
"We’re going to get a number of looks to see him between the tackles. It’s all there on college tape and the best thing is that he’s such a willing learner," Payton said of Harvey. "He’s very, not critical of himself, but man, he wants to please and he’s very coachable. There are certain runs, as we get into looking at Arizona’s front and what we want to feature, that I think he’ll be comfortable with.”
While a segment of Broncos Country agonizes over Harvey's vision and the first-team offense's lackluster debut, the running back room offered everyone a silver lining to hold onto. Jaleel McLaughlin finished with a 1.7 yards-per-carry average vs. the 49ers, but he looked good, and had one explosive run called back due to a holding penalty. He seems locked as the No. 3 back.
Both Tyler Badie and Blake Watson averaged north of 6.0 yards per carry, which was great to see. With that duo alone, the Broncos are in store for some tough decisions when it comes to the running back roster math.
Audric Estime was seemingly the bottom guy on the running-back totem pole, but as a fifth-round pick one year removed, the Broncos will likely look to give him every opportunity to succeed with what remains of the preseason. He was the last running back onto the field, but he led them all in carries, with eight, but he was only able to produce a measly 21 yards rushing (2.6 avg).
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Estime has it tough, somewhat, because he's the only back on the roster to offer the bruiser-type of rushing presence in the room. That kind of power can be sorely missed on a roster when an offense buts up against a critical 3rd-&-short. But when the Broncos have a quarterback like Bo Nix, big, strong, and willing to get physical, it's possible he could be used in lieu of a power-back in short-yardage situations.
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