The work was far from done when RJ Harvey flew south for the summer.
After venturing back home to Florida for the offseason, trainer Dontarian Evans put the Broncos’ second-round pick through some “gruesome workouts,” Evans said. They knew questions swirled about Harvey’s ability to run routes. They knew questions swirled about his ability to be an every-down back. And Evans, familiar with Broncos coach Sean Payton’s offenses over the years, gave the rookie running back a few targets.
“I said, ‘Look, you could be an Alvin Kamara,’” Evans said. “‘You could be a Percy Harvin.’”
“You could be whatever you want to be.”
A third of the way into this 2025 season, though, Harvey still has yet to carve out a clearly defined role, receiving just four carries in last weekend’s win over Philadelphia. It’s the overarching theme of this Broncos rookie class: Each pick has flashed potential, and each has made progress. But none — outside of punter Jeremy Crawshaw — have seen consistent opportunity on this 3-2 Broncos team.
Here’s a look at where each draftee stands heading into Week 6’s London matchup with the Jets.
CB Jahdae Barron (Round 1, No. 20)
Stats: 5 games, 10 tackles, 2 pass deflections
Barron never really made a serious play for the starting nickel job in training camp, and he’s settled into an early specialist role in defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s scheme. 65% of his snaps this season have come in four-defensive-back looks. But Joseph is still experimenting with ways to get Barron, one of the best tacklers in Denver’s secondary, on the field.
In the second quarter Sunday, Barron lined up as the weak-side linebacker next to Alex Singleton in nickel, read a screen to DeVonta Smith perfectly and blew it up for no gain.
Vance Joseph and the #Broncos have tried a few diff ways to get Jahdae Barron on the field this year outside of dime looks. This is a cool one vs. Philly.
Barron is weakside LB next to Alex Singleton in nickel, blows up this screen to DeVonta Smith. pic.twitter.com/JCWDBA84eX
— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) October 10, 2025
“Right now, we’re just trying to focus on getting more looks every day in practice and in games and playing him in certain packages,” Joseph said of Barron last month.
Barron hasn’t done anything to fall off his development track. And it’s likely his overall usage — hovering right around a quarter of Denver’s defensive snaps thus far — rises considerably by the end of the season, as he plays with more speed each passing week.
RB RJ Harvey (Round 2, No. 60)
Stats: 5 games, 31 carries, 150 yards, 4.8 YPC; 12 catches, 87 yards, one TD
In early October, Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi laid fairly plain why Harvey had an off-and-on start to his Broncos career: The staff wanted to be confident that “he’s got the protections down,” Lombardi said.
“He came along quickly with that,” Lombardi said. “So, I think it’s something we feel good about going forward.”
Broncos’ RJ Harvey trying to round into form as ‘Joker’ RB: ‘Eventually, everything gotta settle in’
After Harvey seemed to establish himself as the second horse in a two-back rotation with J.K. Dobbins in Week 4, though, he fell back to more of a spot role against the Eagles. The reason was apparent after the Eagles’ Cooper DeJean toasted him on one pass-protection rep for a near sack-fumble on Bo Nix.
Harvey’s role as a pass-catching threat, though, is starting to take off: 10 catches for 72 yards and a TD over the last three weeks. His ability to stay in the rotation and start consistently earning double-digit carries will hinge on his ability to continue earning every-down trust.
WR Pat Bryant (Round 3, No. 74)
Stats: 5 games, 2 catches, 18 yards
After every game, a couple of cupcakes sit ready and waiting in the locker of every Broncos receiver. Some like red velvet. Trent Sherfield opts for confetti. This has been a rookie tradition for years, decreed by veteran Courtland Sutton and enforced upon Troy Franklin and Devaughn Vele last year.
Bryant’s taken up the mantle in 2025. And he’s gone above and beyond, bringing snacks for every wideout in meetings, as Sherfield told The Denver Post in September.
“He’s a phenomenal rook, man, when it comes to that,” Sherfield said.
Don’t let Bryant’s surface numbers fool you. He’s worked himself into an invaluable role in Sean Payton’s offense, as his snap count ticked up from 13 reps in Week 3 to 27 in Week 4 to 40 in Week 5 against the Eagles.
As a rookie, he might already be the Broncos’ best run blocker at receiver. Two Bryant blocks have led to touchdowns across the last three weeks, springing Dobbins free against the Chargers and giving Marvin Mims Jr. a lane on a 16-yard end-around against Cincinnati. He’s stepped directly into the Lil’Jordan Humphrey role from last season. It seems just a matter of time until Bryant gets more involved as a pass-catcher, as he didn’t receive one target over 23 routes against Philadelphia, according to Pro Football Focus.
DL Sai’vion Jones (Round 3, No. 101)
Stats: 1 game, 0 tackles, 0 sacks
Jones has only been active for one game — six snaps against the Bengals in Week 4, after which Joseph said he played “fine.” He progressed enough through a few weeks of practice to earn the look, but Denver turned back to the more-experienced Jordan Jackson for activation in Week 5.
Jones was selected more with a mind to 2026, when key DL John Franklin-Myers is set to hit the open market. Jones showed flashes throughout camp — and even in his snaps against the Bengals — of interior explosiveness, but still needs to develop against the rush.
OLB Que Robinson (Round 4, No. 134)
Stats: N/A
Robinson was one of the darlings of Broncos training camp, showcasing lightning-quick get-off around the edge. He hasn’t played through five games; that’s to be expected, as Denver rolls four-deep at outside linebacker between Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper, Jonah Elliss and Dondrea Tillman. It’s curious, though, that Robinson hasn’t taken any special-teams snaps after general manager George Paton described him post-draft as a “hardcore special-teamer.”
Elliss is out for Sunday’s game against the Jets, so it’s likely Broncos Country sees their first flashes of Robinson in London.
P Jeremy Crawshaw (Round 6, No. 216)
Stats: 5 games, 47.3 yards/punt, 15 punts inside opposing 20-yard-line
The Broncos’ punter has been the most important member of their 2025 rookie class so far. After some training camp and preseason shakiness, Crawshaw has been one of the more consistent legs in the league, currently sitting at second in the NFL in percentage of punts (62.5%) landing inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.
TE Caleb Lohner (Round 7, No. 241)
Stats: N/A
The Broncos placed reserve tight end Lucas Krull on injured reserve, but appear to have no considerations around elevating Lohner, who’s clearly a practice-squad developmental stash for the future.
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