When an NFL team drafts a running back in the first or second round, it sends a message to its incumbent depth chart. The Denver Broncos selected UCF running back RJ Harvey at No. 60 overall, a player whom GM George Paton described as the scouting department’s “pet cat.”

Harvey is primed to lead a Broncos running back stable featuring 2024 fifth-rounder Audric Estime, Jaleel McLaughlin, Tyler Badie, and Blake Watson. With a new handpicked weapon to deploy in his offense, head coach Sean Payton dished on the implications of the Harvey selection on his incumbent running back room, a group sure to have received the team’s message, loud and clear.

“When we’re talking about some of our younger players, [during] Year 1, they get exposed to what we’re doing. We’ll see growth in Year 2,” Payton said after the draft. “We’re excited to see that with these guys, and that’s whether it’s Blake, Audric, Tyler Badie… we look forward to seeing their development…”

To compare the new iteration of the Broncos, Payton has assembled a facsimile of his vaunted New Orleans Saints offense, with Bo Nix as his Drew Brees. Payton’s Marques Colston is Courtland Sutton, while free-agent acquisition Evan Engram assuming the Jimmy Graham role.

At running back, Harvey steps into the Alvin Kamara or Darren Sproles role, but who is the power back Payton can slam between the tackles or in short-yardage situations, ala Mark Ingram II?

Only one current Broncos running back checks some of the Ingram boxes, and that’s Estime, so it seems that the initial one-two punch will include him alongside Harvey. But regardless of what role each running back assumes, the Broncos relish the spirit of competition that will be created this summer by Harvey’s arrival.

“This is one part of making your team better,” Payton said. “Then you create that high-level competition.”

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Harvey brings a premium draft pedigree to the table, but make no mistake; he’ll have to sing for his supper. Payton is about to make that crystal clear when the Broncos host rookie minicamp and begin holding full team meetings for the offseason training program shortly after.

“Ultimately—and these guys will hear this from me in two weeks in the team meeting, along with the rest of the rookie class—we’re going to go by what we see,” Payton said. “How you arrived here—this is a process.. Once they’re here, it’s up to them to earn their stripes.”

That invitation to earn a job and a role extends to young veteran running back Chris Evans, a former Cincinnati Bengals sixth-rounder whom the Broncos will host for a tryout during rookie minicamp. Evans has been in the league since 2021 and brings the experience of 34 career games, totaling 277 yards from scrimmage and three total touchdowns across 38 touches.

The Broncos have a vision for the players acquired this offseason via free agency and the NFL draft. Payton feels like this year’s draft haul, in particular, offered the Broncos more “freedom” to maneuver, thanks to back-to-back years of good drafting and pro personnel acquisitions within the scope of his regime.

“As we discussed this group of players, there’s a clear vision relative to what we think their strengths are and how they’ll compete in Year 1,” Payton said. “We’re further along than two years ago.”

On paper, it would seem that the Broncos’ running back depth chart will likely be topped by Harvey and Estime. But McLaughlin is loved and respected by Payton and his staff, which makes him a near-lock for the roster.

How Badie and Watson fit remains to be seen. But McLaughlin and Badie each have two years of Payton’s system under their belts. Watson has one.

Payton hopes to see a jump in a player’s production after at least one year in the system, so time will tell whether Estime, who was a rookie last year with Watson, McLaughlin, and Badie, can take some steps forward in the Broncos offense. And in the event that there’s a failure to launch, Harvey offers the Broncos a nice second-round fail-safe as the team’s projected starter.

Heavy emphasis on ‘projected.’ The rookie will have to earn it.

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