{"id":68954,"date":"2025-05-22T01:12:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T01:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/68954\/"},"modified":"2025-05-22T01:12:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T01:12:09","slug":"can-rj-harvey-win-offensive-rookie-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/68954\/","title":{"rendered":"Can RJ Harvey win offensive rookie of the year?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Denver Post Broncos writer Parker Gabriel posts his Broncos Mailbag weekly during the season and periodically during the offseason. Click here to submit a question<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What are your thoughts on the Broncos schedule? And in honor of Memorial Day weekend, how do you gussy up a grilled hot dog? Or is your preference a burger or sausage?<\/p>\n

\u2014 Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.<\/p>\n

Hey Ed, thanks for writing in and getting us going this week.<\/p>\n

My first thought on the schedule is I\u2019m glad it\u2019s out,<\/a> and I don\u2019t know why we\u2019ve allowed the NFL to not only make its release a primetime event, but that the networks trickle games out for several days ahead of time. The league\u2019s masterful at staying in the news cycle nearly year-round, but the whole thing just feels unnecessary.<\/p>\n

Anyway, I digress.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a schedule that features a tough early stanza both from an opponent and travel perspective, but then has opportunity baked in down the stretch<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Four of six on the road to start the year is no joke, even with a manageable opening set of Tennessee at home and Indianapolis on the road. There aren\u2019t many tougher three-game swings than at the Los Angeles Chargers (second of back-to-back games on the road), Cincinnati at home and then at Philadelphia. And those three come in advance of Denver traveling from Philly to London to take on the New York Jets and then back home to play the Giants without the benefit of a bye week.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not cataclysmic by any stretch, but it\u2019s not easy. And as we noted last week, the Broncos are set to be the first team from the Mountain or Pacific time zone to play the week after a game in Europe.<\/p>\n

The reward if you\u2019re in good position after that stretch? Seven of the final 11 games are at home. A stretch where a Thursday nighter against Las Vegas and the bye week combine to make a home game vs. Kansas City the only game in 23 days in November. Those are the kinds of factors that can pay real dividends for a team in the hunt. And it could help the Broncos get healthy for what they hope is a make-or-break finishing kick in Weeks 17 and 18 \u2014 at Kansas City and home against the Chargers \u2014 to finish the regular season.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the kind of schedule that could quickly punish a slow start or run of early-season injuries, but could equally reward a strong September and October or help a healthy team get into prime condition down the stretch.<\/p>\n

One more thought: The NFL and broadcast partners are getting their money\u2019s worth on Denver\u2019s four primetime games. Last year, remember, there was a juicy Thursday night game at New Orleans,<\/a> but otherwise just a Monday night game against Cleveland. The league couldn\u2019t have known that would turn into a Jameis Winston-fueled barnburner<\/a> when the schedule first came out.<\/p>\n

This year? Two divisional games on Thursday nights, plus the early Monday Night Football game against Cincinnati and a Thanksgiving weekend Sunday night matchup at Washington. Those are four darn good ones.<\/p>\n

As far as the holiday weekend and grills go, I grew up in Wisconsin, so there\u2019s only one true answer to this question: Johnsonville brats (and if you\u2019re reading this in Sheboygan, J-ville folks, I\u2019ve got a podcast you should sponsor). Boil \u2018em in light beer with some onions, then grill, get one in a good hearty Kaiser roll \u2014 the bread is an underrated part of the equation \u2014 and enjoy. And if you happen to have some of my hometown New Glarus\u2019 finest out here on the Front Range, you\u2019re really in business.<\/p>\n

Can RJ Harvey be an offensive rookie of the year candidate? UCF\u2019s offense ran through him last year and he still put up incredible numbers.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Mark, Arvada<\/p>\n

It\u2019s May, so we\u2019re in Way Too Early territory on anything having to do with the regular season, but whatever. Let\u2019s look ahead several months.<\/p>\n

Harvey is going to have every chance to carve out a big role for himself this fall<\/a> and if he does, there\u2019s all kinds of opportunity for big offensive numbers.<\/p>\n

Harvey said during rookie minicamp that he wanted to eventually be a better player than former New Orleans standouts like Alvin Kamara and Darren Sproles, each of whom thrived under now-Broncos coach Sean Payton.<\/p>\n

Kamara, as it happens, was the offensive rookie of the year in 2017. A third-round draft pick out of Tennessee, Kamara played in a collegiate tandem and surprised even Payton and the Saints offensive staff with his ability between the tackles. They knew he would be a good receiver. Turns out, he was just really good all around.<\/p>\n

Harvey, in many ways, was Kamara\u2019s opposite in college. He was featured at UCF and had big-time production in the running game, but NFL teams didn\u2019t have a ton to go on in terms of his abilities as a receiver.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what Kamara did for New Orleans in 2017: 728 rushing yards (on 6.1 per attempt) and eight rushing touchdowns, plus 81 catches (100 targets) for 826 yards and five more scores. That\u2019s 1,554 scrimmage yards and 15 touchdowns in 16 games as a rookie. And the first of five straight years to open Kamara\u2019s career that he had at least 81 catches.<\/p>\n

Bottom line: Kamara put up preposterous numbers right out of the gate. On one hand, it\u2019s perfectly fair to say that cannot be the expectation for Harvey. On the other, it\u2019s clear Payton knows how to use a dynamic running back with the best of them and isn\u2019t afraid to heavily involve a rookie at that position.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s not call it a likelihood at this point, but let\u2019s certainly not entirely rule it out.<\/p>\n

A related note: The Broncos will see several players you\u2019d consider as likely being in the mix for offensive rookie of the year. They include No. 1 overall pick and Titans QB Cam Ward (Week 1), Indianapolis tight end Tyler Warren (Week 2), Chargers running back Omarion Hampton (Weeks 3 and 18), Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty (Weeks 10 and 14), Green Bay receiver Matthew Golden (Week 15) and Jacksonville two-way star Travis Hunter (Week 16).<\/p>\n

Parker, who do you think will make the Pro Bowl from the Broncos this season? I think Pat Surtain II and Marvin Mims Jr. are guarantees. Nik Bonitto should be worthy if he can do what he did in 2024. Then I have Bo Nix, Quinn Meinerz and Dre Greenlaw. What do you think?<\/p>\n

\u2014 Mike, Denver<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Zach Allen got to do to get invited to the Pro Bowl, Mike?! He didn\u2019t last year playing the best football of his life, even though he ended up getting named second-team All-Pro by the Associated Press. He led defensive tackles in pressures, too. Sometimes recognition comes a year delayed, especially for positions that aren\u2019t always central to highlight packages or easily measured by a couple of counting stats. So if Allen has a healthy season, I\u2019d think he\u2019d be in the mix.<\/p>\n

Continuing our Way Too Early theme this week, Surtain and Meinerz are a clear starting point. Bonitto if he\u2019s in double-digit sacks again. Could see Mims as a breakout candidate, though there are so many talented receivers that it\u2019s a tough group to crack. If you\u2019re talking as a return man, then for sure.<\/p>\n

The Broncos would love it if Nix is in that conversation. It\u2019s just hard for me to say that from here \u2014 unless you\u2019re talking about the alternate list \u2014 when you reside in the same division as Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert and C.J. Stroud. Allen, Jackson and Mahomes have five of the past seven league MVP awards. That\u2019s a pretty decent starting point for a Pro Bowl quarterback room.<\/p>\n

Not saying Aaron Rodgers is in the same conversation as that trio by current ability, but if he signs with Pittsburgh, the AFC will boast the past seven MVP winners. And that list won\u2019t include Burrow, Herbert or Stroud. It\u2019s a powerhouse conference full of dynamic quarterbacks.<\/p>\n

OK, file this in the way-too-early cabinet, but who do you think the Broncos should target in next year\u2019s draft? I want to see us go for a flashy weapon for Bo Nix, someone like Arizona State\u2019s Jordyn Tyson or Ohio State\u2019s Carnell Tate. We spent this offseason improving the defense; let\u2019s get some razzle-dazzle for the offense next year.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Marshall, Parker<\/p>\n

Heck yeah, we\u2019re getting all of the Way Too Earlies out as we grind out the spring.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t much more than throwing out some names of guys who had good 2024 seasons and are on the early radar screens of draft-types, but how about continuing to add on defense with an edge like Auburn\u2019s Keldric Faulk or Penn State\u2019s Dani Dennis-Sutton? Or Alabama defensive lineman LT Overton?<\/p>\n

Actually, here\u2019s an interesting one: The Broncos haven\u2019t drafted a true offensive tackle since they selected Garett Bolles out of Utah in 2017.<\/p>\n

Just so happens, Denver\u2019s been on quite a run of adding Utes recently \u2014 WR Devaughn Vele and OLB Jonah Elliss in the 2024 draft and TE Caleb Lohner in this year\u2019s draft, plus the recent signing of TE Cole Fotheringham \u2014 and the school\u2019s got good tackles.<\/p>\n

Two of them show up regularly in way-too-early 2026 mock drafts. They would be Spencer Fano (right) and Caleb Lomu (left).<\/p>\n

Sounds like fate (or a random shot in the dark 11-plus months out) to me.<\/p>\n

Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Denver Post Broncos writer Parker Gabriel posts his Broncos Mailbag weekly during the season and periodically during the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2062],"tags":[1586,2825,1303,925,232,1028,2894,564,231,258,2426,1271,1160,7,1331,1713,1577,1729,872,1159,895,929,926,6,1625,3267,499,3887,928,1813,9,128,1626],"class_list":{"0":"post-68954","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-denver-broncos","8":"tag-aaron-rodgers","9":"tag-alvin-kamara","10":"tag-ashton-jeanty","11":"tag-bo-nix","12":"tag-broncos","13":"tag-c-j-stroud","14":"tag-caleb-lohner","15":"tag-colorado","16":"tag-denver","17":"tag-denver-broncos","18":"tag-denverbroncos","19":"tag-devaughn-vele","20":"tag-dre-greenlaw","21":"tag-football","22":"tag-front-range","23":"tag-garett-bolles","24":"tag-joe-burrow","25":"tag-jonah-elliss","26":"tag-josh-allen","27":"tag-justin-herbert","28":"tag-lamar-jackson","29":"tag-latest-headlines","30":"tag-more-broncos-news","31":"tag-nfl","32":"tag-nik-bonitto","33":"tag-pat-surtain-ii","34":"tag-patrick-mahomes","35":"tag-quinn-meinerz","36":"tag-r-j-harvey","37":"tag-sean-payton","38":"tag-sports","39":"tag-travis-hunter","40":"tag-zach-allen"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}