Is there a more popular combination than Sean Payton and his joker in the Denver sports scene? Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, and the Colorado Rockies and losing probably are the most popular combos for the other major pro sports teams in the Mile High City. Ever since the Broncos were eliminated from the NFL playoffs back in January, the talk surrounding the organization has been who Payton will utilize as his ‘joker’ in the 2025 season.
When the Broncos signed Evan Engram back in March, the takes started flying as to whether he could be like Jimmy Graham and Jeremy Shockey, both of whom were talented tight ends with the New Orleans Saints that Payton utilized en route to winning a lot of football games down in the Bayou. However, he doesn’t have the same frame that those guys had, as Engram is built more like a big wide receiver than those tank-like tight ends.
Then the 2025 NFL Draft rolled around, and Payton and the Broncos selected UCF running back RJ Harvey in the second round with the 60th overall pick. The 5-foot-9, 205 pound back was a work horse in college and showed his ability to do damage both on the ground and in the pass game down in Orlando, and his resume was good enough for Payton to bring him to a Broncos team that had a lackluster run game in 2024.
Is it possible that Harvey can become the running back version of the joker that Payton utilized with the Saints in Reggie Bush and Alvin Kamara? He has some of the same traits that those two dynamic backs had, and Broncos fans have been itching to find out if he’s gonna be that elusive joker in the backfield next to Bo Nix when the season kicks off.
“He’s doing well,” Payton said about his rookie back’s receiving game after day two of Broncos mandatory minicamp on Wednesday. “We haven’t given him his joker wings or any of that yet, but he’s doing well.”
For those who don’t remember, Bush had 565 rushing yards, 742 receiving yards and eight total touchdowns in his rookie year with Payton back in 2006. Kamara had three different seasons in which he had at least 700 yards on the ground and in the air, scoring 13, 18 and 21 touchdowns in those three seasons (2017, 2018 and 2020).
That’s not to say that Harvey won’t get there for Denver, it’s just very early in his career arc. Remember, he hasn’t even put on pads for the Broncos yet. He still has one more day of mandatory minicamp, all of training camp and all of the preseason to improve his receiving game and get used to Payton’s offense.
The rookie recently said that he’s shooting to be better than Kamara and Darren Sproles were for Payton in New Orleans. His burst has been on full display throughout the offseason, and seems to be on a track that should see him getting a fair amount of usage in the regular season, despite the recent signing of J.K. Dobbins.
Bush and Kamara saw a ton of usage in their rookie seasons under Payton. Could the same story be panning out for Harvey as he gets adjusted to Denver and the NFL landscape?