Coming out of UCF, RJ Harvey wasn’t viewed as a very highly ranked prospect. That said, Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos decided to take him in the second round (pick 60) of the NFL Draft. This selection has made him one of the more interesting backs for 2025 fantasy football.
Per this data from DynastyFFDino on Reddit, round two running backs have a 28% chance of becoming an RB1 at some point in their career and a 51% chance at becoming an RB2.
While Harvey certainly has some shortcomings, there’s quite a bit of upside to his profile as well. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the 2025 fantasy football outlook for RJ Harvey.
RJ Harvey: Prospect Profile
At 5’9” and 208 lbs, Harvey reminds me a bit of Maurice Jones-Drew (5’7” and 210 lbs). Both are shorter backs, but they’re more than heavy enough to carry an NFL workload.
Funny enough, Jones-Drew was drafted at the exact same spot as Harvey and he went on to be a three time Pro Bowl running back.
At UCF, Harvey showcased strong vision and the ability to make defenders miss in space. While Harvey doesn’t necessarily have the best long speed, he can still break off plenty of explosive plays.
2025 Fantasy Football Outlook
When looking at Harvey from a 2025 fantasy football standpoint, going to the Broncos was a dream landing spot. Payton has a history of working with very good running backs, such as Mark Ingram, Reggie Bush and Alvin Kamara. The hope is that Payton can work with Harvey and get the most out of him.
Another advantage Harvey has for fantasy football is that he’s already in the prime age for his career. At 24 years old, Harvey spent extra time at UCF working on his game. While some may see Harvey on the same level as these other younger rookies, Harvey should be much more polished.
You want to draft running backs who are on a good offense and Harvey fits that mold. Bo Nix had a very good rookie season and is looking to lead the team to an even better year two. On top of that, the Broncos added third round rookie Pat Bryant and free agent Evan Engram.
Since rookies typically take longer to get on the field, Harvey dodged a bullet by landing with the Broncos. Audric Estime is currently projected to be the RB2 in the backfield and he was a 5th round pick who only had 310 yards (4.1 YPC) last season.
ORLANDO, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 28: RJ Harvey #7 of the UCF Knights runs the ball in the first half of a ... More game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at FBC Mortgage Stadium on October 28, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)Getty Images
Steve Bradshaw’s 2025 Ranking
With all of this in mind, it’s time to rank Harvey for fantasy football. While a lot is going to change between now and the start of the year, Harvey was shockingly high in my 2025 fantasy football rankings.
Harvey is my 48th overall player in a 1QB, PPR format. For reference, that makes him the RB20 and that 48th overall rank is 32 spots higher than FantasyPros Expert Consensus Ranking.
Harvey is a great value for 2025 fantasy drafts if you can get him as a mid to low end RB2. Even though I wasn’t a huge fan of Harvey coming out of college, he’s a player who will be on a lot of my 2025 fantasy football teams.