2025 Draft Day(s) Discussion Thread

[CEH]

RJ Harvey
after great trade backs

 

[Duffman]

RJ Harvey
after great trade backs

That would be a crazy reach

 

[BHamita15]

I know some might not but I love Harvey.

 

[megalodon30]

Productive RB that looks like he knows how to make defenders miss. That was a trait Javante had, so hopefully Harvey can come in and be a tackle breaker.

 

[MileHigh64]

RJ Harvey RB, UCF​

OVR RK: 106 • POS RK: 7 • HT: 5-8 • WT: 205
R.J. Harvey, RB, UCF - This is the prime spot to pick a running back. Impressive patience by Sean Payton, George Paton and Co. Harvey is a smaller yet electric runner with plus burst, long speed, and serious side-to-side wiggle. Dynamic in the screen game too. New-age, versatile type. Think Bucky Irving. (Chris Trapasso)

A​

 

[LGM]

Second round should be impact players, not role players. Disappointing.

 

[Duffman]

I know some might not but I love Harvey.

The problem seems to be we pick again in like 14 picks and we didn’t seem to think that the 7th best RB still available wouldn’t still be there?

 

[nflbronco]

this high yuck 24 yrs old

 

[BHamita15]

The problem seems to be we pick again in like 14 picks and we didn’t seem to think that the 7th best RB still available wouldn’t still be there?

Ah, you know that's not how the draft works.

 

[BHamita15]

RJ Harvey - UCF - True story, his lowest YPC this season was against Florida. He averaged 4.7 YPC that game. Also a true story, he had a run of at least 13 yards in EVERY GAME this year. He had a run of at least 23 yards in 10/12 games this year. This is Jeanty-type stuff in the 3rd round. He's old though.



I posted this a month ago. He's gonna be good.

 

[SpringStein]

From The Athletic
A two-year starter at UCF, Harvey was the lead back in head coach Gus Malzahn’s multiple run scheme. A quarterback his entire life, he’d never taken a snap at running back before joining the Golden Knights (Harvey: “I didn’t even know how to take a handoff.”). Even so, he rushed for 75 or more yards in each of his final 21 games at UCF, and only Ashton Jeanty, Omarion Hampton and Tahj Brooks had more rushing yards in the FBS over the past two seasons.

Though he doesn’t have the power to drive through the first level, he is a dynamic make-you-miss runner with his tempo and burst (54 carries of 10 or more yards in 2024), which made him a frequent visitor to the end zone (UCF-record 48 total touchdowns). He is below average as a pass-protecting blocker but has the tools to be a weapon catching the ball on screens and wheels. Overall, Harvey needs to develop better consistency on passing downs, but he is skilled at patiently settling his feet and changing lanes with his instinctive field vision and lateral quickness. Similar in ways to Tyjae Spears, he projects best in a timeshare role in the NFL

Robert “RJ” Harvey Jr., who has two sisters (Brianna and Alaina), was born and raised in Orlando with his parents (Robert and Juliet). He grew up with a football in his crib and started playing the first year he was eligible, at age 5. His father was his coach in flag football and then in tackle football for the Orlando Outlaws. Harvey was a quiet kid, so his father put him at quarterback to force him to talk more — and he stayed at quarterback throughout little league (also played on defense). At age 7, Harvey was named the 2008 Offensive Player of the Year in Midget league. His younger sister (Alaina) was a standout high school softball player and just finished her freshman season as a pitcher and third baseman at Allen (S.C.) University.

Harvey enrolled at Edgewater High, which produced 2016 first-round safety Karl Joseph. He moved up to varsity as a sophomore and shared quarterback duties for a team that went winless (0-10) in 2016, losing its games by an average of 41 points. Under a new coaching staff, Harvey became the full-time starting quarterback as a junior and led a major turnaround, earning first-team all-county and leading Edgewater to a 9-3 record and the 2017 district title. As a senior, he led Edgewater to 12 wins and the 2018 7A state semifinals. Harvey finished his final season with 1,787 passing yards, 1,376 rushing yards and 48 total touchdowns (25 rushing 23 passing). He also lettered in weightlifting and track at Edgewater. He had personal bests of 11.29 seconds in the 100 meters, 23.58 in the 200 and 18 feet, 5 inches in the long jump.

A three-star recruit, Harvey was 36th-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the 2019 recruiting class and the No. 216 recruit in Florida. He received interest from colleges as a running back but had been a quarterback his entire life and was committed to staying at the position in college. After his junior season, Harvey received his first scholarship offer (South Alabama) in February 2018, followed by offers from Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina and Georgia State. Several ACC programs entered the mix, including North Carolina, Syracuse and Virginia. His hometown UCF also offered him, but as a running back. Harvey officially committed to Virginia in July 2018. He signed as a quarterback and was the 23rd-ranked (out of 23) recruit in Virginia’s 2019 class.

Harvey was homesick during his redshirt season, though, and entered the transfer portal in July 2020. The first school he heard from was UCF, which still wanted him as a running back. Harvey was more open to the position change by that point and joined the Golden Knights in August 2020. Because it was so late in the calendar, Harvey had to walk on with the promise from former head coach Josh Heupel that he would be put on scholarship after the season. Heupel left UCF for the Tennessee head coaching job in January 2021 but kept his promise and put Harvey on scholarship before he left. Harvey took advantage of the extra year of eligibility granted because of the pandemic and returned to UCF for a sixth season in 2024. He earned AAC All-Academic honors in 2022 and graduated with a degree in interdisciplinary studies (May 2023). He is pursuing a second degree in pre-management. Harvey accepted his invitation to the 2025 Senior Bowl.

 

[Duffman]

Ah, you know that's not how the draft works.

To a degree it does though, the whole point of us trading down twice was we thought we could still get the guy we wanted we just didn’t wanna take him at that original draft pick because it’s not good value. I understand getting the guy you want but we also don’t want to take a position of need well before we actually needed to draft them because that’s how we end up with people like Shane Ray or Jarvis Moss.

Hell the Raiders get laughed at every year it seems because they massively reach on a player that would’ve still been there a round later let alone 14 picks between our 2. RB’s slowed way down after the early 2nd I don’t think we needed to draft him right then and there.

 

[BHamita15]

To a degree it does though, the whole point of us trading down twice was we thought we could still get the guy we wanted we just didn’t wanna take him at that original draft pick because it’s not good value. I understand getting the guy you want but we also don’t want to take a position of need well before we actually needed to draft them because that’s how we end up with people like Shane Ray or Jarvis Moss.

Hell the Raiders get laughed at every year it seems because they massively reach on a player that would’ve still been there a round later let alone 14 picks between our 2. RB’s slowed way down after the early 2nd I don’t think we needed to draft him right then and there.

You are making assumptions with no real evidence. Had the card read Kaleb Johnson, would you have the same logic? I'll give Payton/Paton the benefit of the doubt here.

 

[CEH]

who is Pat Bryant ?

 

[megalodon30]

who is Pat Bryant ?

A WR from Illinois.

 

[Duffman]

You are making assumptions with no real evidence. Had the card read Kaleb Johnson, would you have the same logic? I'll give Payton/Paton the benefit of the doubt here.

Johnson was the top rated RB left of the board so if his name was read it would’ve made sense. There were 21 picks made between the last RB taken in the 2nd round and our pick at pick 60. And there were 0 RB’s taken from when we picked at 60 to just now so there wasn’t even a run on RB to make you question it.

It was a reach plain and simple. Not saying he won’t be good but we didn’t need to take him then and there.

 

[MileHigh64]

All three of the Broncos picks so far have been very unexpected. I hope they're confident that they're finding diamonds in the rough. Obviously, Barron is a solid pick. Pat Bryant seems more like a WR3. Was thinking that they would go DL or TE before taking a WR.

 

[BHamita15]

Johnson was the top rated RB left of the board so if his name was read it would’ve made sense. There were 21 picks made between the last RB taken in the 2nd round and our pick at pick 60. And there were 0 RB’s taken from when we picked at 60 to just now so there wasn’t even a run on RB to make you question it.

It was a reach plain and simple. Not saying he won’t be good but we didn’t need to take him then and there.

You are speaking of some hypothetical draft board that doesn't actually exist. The truth is, Johnson is still sitting on the board at pick 82...drafting him at 64 would have been a reach. You have no idea if the same would be true about Harvey.

 

[Duffman]

And we’re back on the clock

 

[megalodon30]

Traded up!