ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos are not lowering expectations for their running back room.
After opening the preseason with a productive night on the ground in Atlanta, second-year running back RJ Harvey made the group’s ambition clear Monday as Denver returned to practice ahead of Friday night’s home preseason matchup with the Green Bay Packers.
“We want to be the best running back room in the nation — in all of the NFL,” Harvey said. “We’re just going to take it day by day, get better each and every day with the O-line and quarterbacks and, you know, running backs, we’re just going to push each other.”
It is an ambitious statement, but Denver has spent the summer assembling evidence that its backfield could become one of the deeper and more versatile groups on the roster.
The Broncos rushed for 162 yards and averaged 4.2 yards per carry in Friday’s 27-7 preseason-opening victory over the Falcons. Denver had 94 rushing yards by halftime, while rookie Jonah Coleman finished with 24 yards on four carries, including a 13-yard run through contact.
Now the Broncos turn toward Green Bay with a running back room that is beginning to offer Sean Payton several different answers depending on the situation.
Harvey looking for his Year 2 jump
Harvey’s development may be the most important piece.
The second-round pick from the 2025 NFL Draft finished his rookie season with 540 rushing yards, 356 receiving yards and 12 total touchdowns. His 12 scores led all NFL rookies, while his impact as a receiver became an increasingly important part of Denver’s offense.
A year later, Harvey believes the biggest difference is happening before the ball ever reaches his hands.
“This year I feel way more comfortable,” Harvey said Monday. “Coming from college last year, we had a lot of, like, one-word play calls, and coming to the NFL is way different. So I feel way more comfortable. I’m not thinking as much when I’m on the field now.”
That comfort has allowed Harvey to focus more heavily on decisiveness.
Asked what he worked on during the offseason, Harvey pointed to trusting the offensive line, trusting what the defense gives him and committing to the play rather than hesitating.
That progression fits with what quarterback Bo Nix said earlier in camp. Nix praised Harvey’s improvement in the details of playing the position, including protection and handling multiple run concepts, and said the second-year back is reaching a point where the game is becoming less new and he can simply play.
Harvey also spent part of the offseason working on route running and receiving, an area where he already showed significant potential as a rookie.
For an offense that wants backs capable of affecting defenses beyond traditional rushing downs, that matters.
Zach Allen sees the problem from the other side
Harvey’s assessment of Denver’s backfield is not coming only from inside the running back room.
Defensive lineman Zach Allen has spent training camp trying to stop it.
Asked Monday what stands out about Harvey from across the line of scrimmage, Allen pointed immediately to his versatility.
“He could do it all,” Allen said. “Very shifty, but he’s also big, and he runs great routes. So when you have a guy that’s just so multifaceted, it’s tough to game plan stuff like that.”
Allen added that Harvey performs particularly well when he gets one-on-one opportunities.
That versatility extends beyond Harvey.
Denver entered training camp with veteran J.K. Dobbins, Harvey and Coleman forming the core of the room. Dobbins rushed for 772 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games last season, averaging 77.2 rushing yards per game before his season was interrupted. Payton has described Dobbins as an important part of Denver’s success and said the position room is further along than it was when the current coaching staff first arrived.
Coleman has quickly added another dimension.
Denver selected the Washington running back with the 108th overall pick in April. Payton highlighted Coleman’s physical running style, toughness, intelligence and ability to contribute on third down during the Broncos’ draft evaluation. Coleman himself described joining Dobbins and Harvey as creating a potential “three-headed monster” in the backfield.
The rookie then started converting that projection into production against Atlanta.
His four carries produced 24 yards, and Payton specifically praised Coleman’s balance after contact following the victory.
Allen has noticed it, too.
He described Coleman as a player who comes to work every day wanting to improve and compared his versatility to Harvey’s, noting that Denver’s backs are not limited to one role.
“They can kind of do it all,” Allen said.
Denver is making the run game part of its identity
The emphasis on the backfield is not accidental.
Denver has made the running game a central part of training camp, including dedicated physical run periods. Nix said last week that establishing that physicality during practice is part of developing the type of team capable of winning difficult games later in the season.
Friday in Atlanta offered the first outside test.
The Broncos controlled the line of scrimmage, rushed for 162 yards and built a 24-0 halftime lead before finishing off a 27-7 victory.
Monday started the next stage.
Payton said Denver opened the week with a red-zone installation and will have two padded practices before the emphasis shifts toward Green Bay on Thursday.
“We’ll get two good days,” Payton said. “Then Thursday’s practice will be more Green Bay-driven.”
That puts Friday night at Empower Field at Mile High as the next opportunity to evaluate whether Denver’s improving ground game can carry its success from practice into another game.
The Broncos host the Packers at 7 p.m. MT Friday, Aug. 21, in their first home preseason game of 2026.
The standard remains the same in preseason
Payton is also making clear that evaluation and winning do not have to be mutually exclusive.
Denver has won eight consecutive preseason games after Friday’s victory in Atlanta, the NFL’s longest active preseason winning streak.
Asked Monday why maintaining a competitive mentality matters even in exhibition games, Payton offered a simple explanation.
“They’re keeping score,” Payton said. “So if they’re keeping score, we want to win.”
He added that players who enter the game are expected to perform to the team’s standard regardless of where they sit on the depth chart.
Allen echoed that mentality.
“Any time you roll the ball out, you want to win,” Allen said, connecting the approach to the culture Denver is trying to maintain.
Friday gives the Broncos another chance to do that.
It also gives Harvey, Coleman and the rest of Denver’s backfield another opportunity to show that the goal Harvey laid out Monday is more than a training-camp sound bite.
The Broncos want the best running back room in football.
The process of proving it has already started.
You must be logged in to post a comment.