Who Should I Start? Austin Ekeler or RJ Harvey

Tuesday, April 14, 5:37 AM

Denver Broncos running back RJ Harvey ended his rookie season as fantasy's RB21 in Half-PPR formats, assuming lead back responsibilities following a Week 10 foot injury to J.K. Dobbins and finishing as the RB6 over the final five weeks of the fantasy season. Unfortunately, much of that success came on the back of a generally unsustainable touchdown surge, with exactly half of his impressive 12 total touchdowns coming in that five-week span. When it comes to repeatable patterns, his efficiency metrics were far less inspiring. Running behind one of the best offensive lines in football, his yards over expectation per attempt ranked 48th in the league according to the NFL's Next Gen Stats, almost two full yards and 44 spots behind Dobbins. The Broncos re-signed Dobbins on what is essentially a one-year deal with a second-year option, which could be viewed as a small victory for Harvey managers in a strong running back free-agent class. However, with 10 weeks of existing data, in which Dobbins out-touched Harvey 164 to 75, expectations of a year-two breakout should remain tempered. Harvey does offer additional value as the primary pass-catching back in a Sean Payton offense, though with the Broncos spending big to acquire wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, the competition for targets will be stiffer in 2026, following a 2025 season in which Denver's 58.8% passing rate already represented a six-season high in Payton's historically run-heavy offense.