Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season is finally here and opening weekend will continue on Sunday with the Tennessee Titans visiting the Denver Broncos at 4:05 p.m. ET on FOX.
The Broncos broke through with a 10-7 record in 2024 and earned the final AFC Wild Card spot, ending an eight-year playoff drought in the process. The team is hoping to take another step forward with Bo Nix entering his second year as the starting QB and a new weapon the team got for him this offseason is rookie running back RJ Harvey. He enters the year with an ADP (average draft position) in the 21-22 range among running backs across multiple scoring formats according to FantasyPros, so fantasy managers already have high expectations for him as an RB2 option.
Below, we’ll go over Harvey’s outlook in fantasy football for Week 1.
Fantasy Football analysis: Broncos RB RJ Harvey
Harvey was quietly one of top running backs in college football for the past two seasons and he earned Third Team All-American honors in 2024 by rushing for 1,577 yards on an impressive 6.8 yards per carry with 22 touchdowns on the ground. The UCF product was able to parlay that into a second-round selection by the Broncos in this year’s draft and his impressive showing during training camp has many excited about what he can do in Sean Payton’s offense this season.
Despite getting a bulk of the work during the preseason, he is listed behind veteran J.K. Dobbins on the depth chart ahead of the Week 1 opener. How many touches he’ll get as the backup remains to be seen and it would not be a surprise if he quickly assumes the starter role for himself.
Start or sit in Week 1 standard/PPR leagues?
Start. Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin split time and each logged over 100 carries for the Broncos last season, so it’s easy to envision Harvey getting a heavy workload even as the backup. They’re going up against a Titans run defense that yielded 20.8 fantasy points per game to running backs in standard leagues last season and that opens the door for the rookie to have a strong performance in his debut. Managers who drafted him shouldn’t shy away from the hype in Week 1. Roll with Harvey in your starting lineup.
