Broncos move RJ Harvey (knee) to injured reserve

Harvey was added to the injury report Thursday with a knee injury before being unable to practice Friday, ultimately ruled out for the team’s divisional clash against the Chiefs. Expect Jonah Coleman to serve as the primary rusher in addition to the possibility he sees his pass game involvement tick up in the absences of both Harvey and Tyler Badie, the latter of whom is on injured reserve. The increase in opportunity is enough to vault Coleman into viable FLEX territory for Week 8.

Harvey was added to the injury report Thursday after being limited in practice due to a knee injury, something fantasy managers will want to monitor as the weekend approaches. Either way, Harvey now has two healthy backs to compete with for touches with the return of Jonah Coleman in Week 7, keeping him on the fringes of FLEX consideration entering a difficult matchup against the Chiefs.

Harvey only ran the ball three times for six yards. Jonah Coleman, who was active for the first time since Week 2, ran nine times and also caught a pair of passes. Harvey’s role took a hit, but he made the most of his limited opportunities with a 52-yard screen in the third quarter. Sean Payton’s play-call schemed half of the Cardinals’ defense out of the play and Harvey blew by the other half on his way to the end zone. Despite the spike week for fantasy managers, Harvey’s declining role will have him tumbling down the running back ranks for Week 8. He will be on the RB3/4 border versus Kansas City next week.

Coleman can return to practice this week and the team now has 21 days to bring him off injured reserve. He could be back on the field as soon as Sunday. With the Broncos’ offense struggling and two backs already seeing work in the backfield, it’s hard to imagine Coleman having much fantasy value in his first game back. He’s worth stashing in deeper leagues, but it might be a while before fantasy managers want him in their lineups.

The fact that the 31 yards through the air led the team in receiving is a comment on the state of an offense that gained only 168 yards of total offense against the defending Super Bowl Champions. Even so, a relentlessly aggressive defense willed the team to victory behind a consistently positive game script, which allowed J.K. Dobbins to handily lead the backfield in opportunities. Harvey remains a matchup-dependent fantasy option best utilized in trailing game environments, which is unlikely to be the case when the Broncos face the struggling Cardinals in Week 7.

Harvey was a non-factor in this one, and a week after his big receiving game, he was held without a catch with just one target. The second-year tailback was clearly the backup to JK Dobbins, and was unable to make the most of his limited opportunities. He’s off the radar for Week 6 versus the Seahawks on Thursday.

Dobbins, as usual, led the Denver backfield in carries but lost out to RJ Harvey on pass routes and targets. In fact, Harvey led the Broncos with ten catches on ten targets in a check-down heavy game plan for Bo Nix and OC Davis Webb. Dobbins has been touchdown-reliant as the Broncos’ lead back, and sensitive to game script, as we saw in Week 4. Dobbins can be used as a flex next week against a vulnerable Chargers run defense.

Playing against a 49ers defense allowing the league’s highest target share to running backs, Harvey led the Broncos in targets and receptions — thanks in part to negative game script that forced Denver to go pass heavy in the second half. It was a nice little PPR cheat code outing for Harvey, who now has 20 receptions in three games this year. JK Dobbins, meanwhile, led the Denver backfield with 11 rushes in Week 4. Harvey could be a PPR flex play next week against the Chargers.

RJ Harvey was checked for a concussion in Week 3 and is not on the injury report today, meaning both backs are good to go for Week 4. Dobbins saw 17 carries versus the Rams compared to just two for Harvey, though the latter caught six passes. Dobbins caught one pass. The rushing advantage will keep Dobbins in the RB3 mix for Week 4.

Harvey took an awkward tackle and appeared to stumble following the play. He was removed during the commercial break and taken to the locker room to be evaluated for a concussion. Harvey gained six yards on two carries prior to departing, adding 39 yards on five receptions, but would return for the fourth quarter to add two additional yards on one additional catch. Harvey continues to add value through the air but could struggle to return value better than RB3 in fantasy circles given the current struggles of the offense. He’ll be an RB3 against the 49ers in Week 4.