![\"Denver](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/TDP-L-SPFBNBRONCOS-0511-12.jpg\")
Denver Broncos cornerback Jahdae Barron takes part in drills during rookie minicamp at the team\u2019s headquarters Saturday in Centennial. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)<\/p>\nRJ Harvey found himself in Sean Payton\u2019s office on Friday, his first full day at the Broncos facility as a pro since being drafted last month.<\/p>\n
The rookie running back listened and watched as his new head coach outlined a vision for his future by showing him film from the past.<\/p>\n
The players on the screen: Former New Orleans running backs Alvin Kamara and Darren Sproles.<\/p>\n
The topic: choice routes.<\/p>\n
Each former Saints back tormented linebackers, safeties and others throughout their careers. They\u2019d be matched up one-on-one in the middle of the field, making a cut either inside or out (the choice) to get open, and doing major damage.<\/p>\n
Payton on Saturday said the first day of his rookie minicamp Friday included installing the choice route. Saturday, it was the wheel route.<\/p>\n
Rookie minicamp is for basics \u2014 Payton said Saturday, \u201ctoday\u2019s install, we put in really one route\u201d for the running backs \u2014 but also for first impressions.<\/p>\n
This much is clear: Harvey\u2019s intent on not waiting around to make his.<\/p>\n
When he watched Kamara and Sproles with Payton, Harvey saw players he wants to emulate and ultimately surpass.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefinitely want to be like those guys,\u201d Harvey told reporters. \u201cDarren Sproles, he went crazy with the Saints. Kamara, too. I want to be better than those guys, so I\u2019m going to work every day to get better and prove myself to all the vets and the coaches.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to make an immediate impact in this league.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a long way between sunny Saturdays in May and the kind of December Sundays when Harvey\u2019s rookie year impact will ultimately be measured. There\u2019s a long distance between making a mark in your debut season and forging a career like Sproles (14 years) or Kamara (eight and counting).<\/p>\n
On the second day of Broncos rookie minicamp \u2014 the lone day open to reporters \u2014 however, Harvey looked the part.<\/p>\n
Caveats always apply this time of year. No pads. No veterans. Just the very first days on the field.<\/p>\n
Still, Harvey is a powerful runner whose packed muscle onto his lower half, deploys a wicked jump cut and claims he has good vision because he spent his entire high school career and first collegiate season at Virginia playing quarterback.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, he also showed good hands in the receiving game. He didn\u2019t drop a pass and hauled in several wheel routes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI ran a lot of wheel routes at UCF, so I\u2019m used to that,\u201d he said flatly. \u201cDefinitely there\u2019s a lot to improve on. Pass protection and working my routes. We didn\u2019t run a lot of routes (overall) at UCF, so it\u2019s something to get better at and I\u2019m going to get better at it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Payton said he tries not to get ahead of himself during weekends like this one.<\/p>\n
Every young player has a lot of development ahead. This Broncos draft class is perhaps particularly interesting in that department, given the projection involved with Harvey, first-round pick Jahdae Barron\u2019s versatility, and the light collegiate snap counts for OLB Que Robinson and TE Caleb Lohner.<\/p>\n
Payton, though, said it\u2019s also important to remember what this weekend encompasses for players like Harvey.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really start with the fundamentals,\u201d Payton said. \u201cThe growth comes and you feel it. Sometimes it comes faster than you expect, sometimes maybe slower. He\u2019s someone that, look, he\u2019s picked up very quickly what we\u2019re doing. You can tell it\u2019s something that\u2019s really important to him. But this is their first exposure to the training room, the weight room, the schedule, the nutrition, the practice. There\u2019s a lot more than, \u2018Hey, we\u2019re going to run these plays.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s looked good, though.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here are some other observations from Saturday\u2019s practice:<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Broncos believe Barron can play any number of positions and he put that versatility on display Saturday. Payton said part of settings like minicamp are to see players in different positions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve moving guys around,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re not just isolating them at one spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Denver Broncos cornerback Jahdae Barron takes part in drills during rookie minicamp at the team\u2019s headquarters Saturday in Centennial. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)<\/p>\n
Barron was involved in one of the most competitive plays of the day, a Pat Bryant grab in traffic. The first-round corner also volunteered that he\u2019d been juked by Harvey. As Harvey was speaking to reporters in the locker room, Barron grabbed his phone and jumped into the scrum. He broke in to ask his own question: \u201cWhy did you juke Jahdae at practice with that move today? Why did you do that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harvey laughed and eventually responded: \u201cI had to get the first round in, man\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s plenty to like about Barron\u2019s game, though. Payton said he already plays like somebody with much more experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re watching closely, some people transition and stop very quickly. He has really quick twitch,\u201d Payton said. \u201cI\u2019d say he\u2019s sticky in coverage. \u2026 I worry sometimes with corners that, if you\u2019re defending every route, you\u2019re defending no route. He\u2019s really savvvy. (If it\u2019s) a tight split, he eliminates 80% of what could be run.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou feel a veteran player.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Broncos have an intriguing PFA piece in North Carolina Central product Joaquin Davis, a receiver who showed every inch of his 6-foot-4 frame and 40-plus-inch vertical on a leaping grab over the middle during one period of minicamp Saturday. Davis\u2019 agent Joseph Flanagan told The Post that Broncos scout Nick Schiralli, who\u2019d primarily led on pinpointing Davis, identified him to Flanagan as someone who could make an \u201cimmediate impact\u201d on special teams. Payton, too, referenced special-teams when discussing Davis on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Fellow receiver Courtney Jackson, who operated out of the slot at Arkansas State, and Toledo product Jerjuan Newton also stood out in crisp route-running Saturday. Payton was clear before the draft that Denver would add bodies in its receiver room before training camp, and all profile to have a shot to crack the 53-man roster.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Payton told reporters during his presser Saturday that there were a \u201ccouple of players\u201d at minicamp who staff would discuss bringing to training camp. He didn\u2019t name names, but here\u2019s one guess \u2014 South Dakota running back Travis Theis. The 215-pound Theis displayed intriguing agility on a number of plays out of the backfield Saturday, despite lacking true top-end burners, and has plenty of versatility after catching 33 balls last season for FCS program South Dakota.<\/p>\n