Jaguars Draft: What RJ Harvey Could Bring to the Table

The Jacksonville Jaguars are marching into the pre-draft process with numerous additions to the roster through free agency and are looking to add more to it through the NFL Draft next month. Several areas of need were addressed without breaking the bank like in previous years.

While they may still possess needs in other crucial areas, the Jaguars must begin to add more developmental talent and depth at other positions to maintain consistency and continuity as a franchise that wants to rid itself of the image of basement dwellers. One of those positions is the running back spot, one of the deepest in this year's class.

UCF Knights running back RJ Harvey is one of those prospects. He is a former quarterback-turned-running back and Virginia transfer who is relatively new to the position. Harvey has been an ultra-productive ball carrier for the last three seasons in Orlando.

Last season, Harvey was named third-team All-American and first-team All-Big 12 as one of the best running backs in the nation. Not bad for the former three-star dual-threat QB. Let's take a look at what Harvey brings to the table as a prospect.

Strengths

If you love patient running backs, Harvey is your guy. He isn't Le'Veon Bell-patient but the way he plays allows for his team's rushing attack to thrive with a combination of that and his footwork and football intelligence.

Harvey's patience allows him to utilize his initial explosiveness to get to the edge and generate chunk plays. He'll use his vision to work against the line of scrimmage and attack a sliver of a crease if one comes available. Harvey does a great job following his blockers to the second level to spring some chunk plays on the ground.

there is so much to love about UCF RB RJ Harvey's game

~ Phone booth creation vs unblocked DL/LB
~ Tempo behind pulling OL to maximize blocking
~ Juice and finish when given the second level pic.twitter.com/PdAAWKYo2U
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) March 14, 2025

Harvey is a creative runner who uses impressive short-area agility and footwork to bounce runs to the perimeter and make defenders miss in space on a consistent basis, making him hard to tackle man-to-man. He has enough contact balance to throw off defenders who attempt to arm tackle him and isn't afraid to lower his shoulder, if necessary.

Furthermore, Harvey offers some value in the passing game as a pass catcher. His ball skills are impressive and his short-area explosive capacity allows him to come up with big plays in the passing game.

Weaknesses

Harvey will enter the league as an older prospect and sixth-year senior, being one of the many prospects that has used his extra year of eligibility from the shortened COVID-19 season in 2020.

A key area that Harvey struggles with is in pass protection, where his technique, physicality, and willingness in this area seem to be lacking. This is likely a determinant to his potential value in this year's draft class and a team will need to be patient with his development in this area.

Harvey has a tendency to not attack inside creases and look for green grass on the perimeter instead, leading to some negative plays in the backfield. He also isn't the most explosive second and third-level runner and will get tackled from behind often in that regard. Furthermore, Harvey must protect the ball better as he has put it on the ground more than a few times each season.

What Harvey could bring to the Jaguars

While Tank Bigsby and Travis Etienne are the lead backs in Jacksonville, they must add another change-of-pace player and Harvey gives them that as a creative runner in head coach Liam Coen's outside zone blocking scheme.

Harvey's combination of vision, patience, creativity, balance, and ball skills make him a rock-solid developmental running back who could find himself on the field more if Etienne's future is no longer in Jacksonville in the coming seasons after 2025. Harvey would be a great target in the middle rounds of the draft for any team in need of a back with his skill set.

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