Report: Broncos' Two 'Reach' Picks Were Coveted by AFC Rival on Day 2

The Denver Broncos weren't the only team in the RJ Harvey and Pat Bryant sweepstakes.

Sep 23, 2023; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; UCF Knights running back RJ Harvey (7) looks for room to run during the first quarter against the Kansas State Wildcats at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. / Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

The 2025 NFL draft is officially in the books. While the Denver Broncos’ draft class has been met with mixed responses from the media and some fans, only time will tell whether the team made good selections and added difference-makers throughout the three-day event.

Much has been made about the Broncos’ passing on a first-round weapon that would help out Bo Nix in favor of another secondary player — cornerback Jahdae Barron — to boost an already loaded defense, as well as “reaching” on UCF running back RJ Harvey and Illinois wide receiver Pat Bryant. Denver certainly drafted both offensive players earlier than where many in the draft media had each prospect ranked, but apparently, the team wasn't alone in being much higher on Harvey and Bryant than those outside the league.

According to The Athletic’s Michael Silver, the new Jacksonville Jaguars regime — GM James Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen — was miffed by the Broncos’ selection of Harvey and Bryant. 

According to Silver, with the Jaguars’ 70th overall selection (an early third-round pick), the team was choosing between Harvey and Louisville edge rusher Ashton Gillotte. The Jaguars' new head coach and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator reportedly adored Harvey and even advocated for moving up in the second round to land him.

“As the second round neared its latter stages, Coen became antsy. 'Let’s just say ‘f*** it’ and get him,' the coach said, in apparent reference to Harvey," Silver wrote.

Coen adored Harvey’s skill set, likely seeing Bucs’ rookie running back from last year, Bucky Irving, a player whom the UFC star was often compared to during the draft process, and wanted him in Jacksonville.

“Coen was smitten with Harvey’s talents as a runner, which were undeniable. His pass-blocking prowess? That was a different story," Silver wrote. "'It’s not his superpower,’ [Tony] Boselli [Jaguars Executive VP of Football Operations] said. ‘His superpower is making people miss.’”

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Boselli reportedly reacted by smiling and the Broncos’ “bastards,” after Denver took Harvey off the board at pick 60. Denver would nab another Jaguars target in Bryant, a Duval County native from the University of Illinois. While Jacksonville might have liked Bryant, Silver noted that Denver took the wide receiver much earlier than the Jaguars would have considered (No. 74 overall).

As the dust from the draft has settled, it seems that overall, Broncos Country has talked itself into being excited about the Harvey addition, specifically. He was the second most-explosive runner in college football, trailing only Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty (No. 6 overall to Las Vegas) in runs of 10-plus and 15-plus yards (all with much fewer carries). Perhaps more smitten by the first-round and early second-round options, fans are embracing Harvey.

Broncos Country's embrace of Bryant has been a tad less enthusiastic. According to fantasy football analyst JJ Zachariason, the wide receiver picks made by the Detroit Lions (Isaac TeSlaa) and the Broncos (Bryant) were two of the biggest reaches in comparison to the consensus big board in a decade.

But just like how the NFL media at large chastised the Broncos for reaching on Bo Nix at No. 12 last year, only to have Sean Payton prove the quarterback was unequivocally the right pick, the Broncos are calling their shot again with Bryant at 74.

Were the weapons added on Day 2 reaches? Did Denver get sniped for other targets in the draft and settle for any of its early selections?

Only time will tell whether Denver made the right decisions this past weekend. There are no sure things in the draft, so anything is on the table.

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However, as Silver reported, some teams coveted both Harvey and Bryant, but we'll have to wait to divine whether Denver jumped the gun or was ahead of the curve on its evaluation of Nix’s two newest weapons.

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