RJ Harvey’s time appears to be now; Broncos need him to launch

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — RJ Harvey’s collision with the spotlight at some point during his rookie season was perhaps inevitable.

The running back in front of him on the depth chart, J.K. Dobbins, has never failed to be productive in any of the seasons in which he’s touched the football at least 90 times. But he’d never made It through a season without missing at least one game.

And now, thanks to what he asserted was a hip-drop tackle leveled on him by Las Vegas defensive end Tyree Wilson, the chances of Dobbins missing at least this Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs grew larger with his absence from practice Wednesday.

Sean Payton didn’t say much regarding Dobbins on Wednesday, as is his wont on such matters.

“Nothing has been decided yet, and at some point there’ll be some more clarity with him and some of these other players,” Payton said after the day’s practice.

But in the nine normal weeks of practice this season — excepting last week’s walk-through sessions — 12 of the 15 players who did not practice in the week-opening session four days before the game did not end up playing. And no one who missed two-consecutive days of practice returned to play in the game.

Furthermore, when Payton was asked about Harvey being prepared for a larger workload, Payton said this within his reply:

“When we drafted him, it was his running skillset, and he had a lot of touches,” Payton said. “… I think sometimes players are not held back, but when you are watching Pat Bryant grow right in front of our eyes and you’re starting to see that with RJ, and obviously he’ll have more opportunities here in this game.”

So, the reality of a heavier burden being dropped onto Harvey’s shoulders seems at hand.

Tyler Badie would likely get more work, and Jaleel McLaughlin would be in the mix; Payton brought McLaughlin’s name up unprompted during his press conference Wednesday, for what it’s worth.

But Harvey’s time appears to be here.

HARVEY LEARNED FROM OTHERS IN THE RB ROOM

No Bronco has more touchdowns so far this season than Harvey, of course; only Troy Franklin matches Harvey’s six trips to the end zone to date.

But it’s the efficiency with which the Central Florida product has scored that is most notable; in the last five games, he’s made it to the end zone five times in just 26 total offensive touches.

Harvey is also just the seventh rookie or first-year player in club history to log at least 6 touchdowns in the first 10 games of a season, with Phillip Lindsay the last to accomplish the feat seven years ago.

“Obviously, the talent that he has and the movement skills and the strength, is really, really impressive,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said.

But Harvey is also getting support from Dobbins and others around him within the position group.

“He’s a great worker, and I think he’s in a room where a lot of the guys in there like J.K., like Jaleel, those guys show him how to do things right. And he’s gotten better and better every week,” McGlinchey said.

“[Running backs coach] Lou [Ayeni] has done a great job in that room this year. We’ve improved the way that we’ve run the ball. And it’s a testament to those guys for sure.”

Still, the picture is incomplete for Harvey. The dynamic threat he displays as a pass-catching target is obvious; four of his six scores are as a receiver. The promise that he showed on a wheel route during OTAs has resulted in dynamic performance in a hurry.

“He’s not just a running back. He’s a very special dude,” wide receiver Courtland Suttons aid. “The dude can do a little bit of everything.”

But for him to truly step into Dobbins’ shoes, he’ll need to become a more consistent ground threat. Bolstered by his 50-yard gallop in Week 1, Harvey carries a 4.3-yards-per-attempt average into Week 11. But his success rate of 34.0 percent is last among 52 NFL running backs with at least 50 attempts so far this season; Dobbins ranks 20th at 53.6 percent.

Just as Bo Nix’s low success rate reflects the inconsistency of the second-year QB, so too does this come into play for Harvey. And the last thing the Broncos need is another scattershot element for an offense that has struggled to sustain momentum.

Thus, the hope the Broncos have in their rising rookie is this: More work will equal better outcomes.

“So, honestly, the more carries he gets, probably the better he’ll be,” Nix said. “We know what he can do out of the backfield, but we’re excited to see him.

“I guess the situation calls for him to take the next step and he looked really good [Wednesday] at practice.”

It’s time to see if that translates, and to see if the product of “Space U” is ready to launch.

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