Sean Payton Tweet Shows How Excited the Broncos HC is About RJ Harvey

If you needed any further evidence of Sean Payton's excitement for the Denver Broncos' second-round running back RJ Harvey, look no further than X. Payton posted a picture of his daughter, Meghan, posing for a pic with Harvey with the caption:

"When your daughter likes your 2nd-round pick!!"

Meghan works for FanDuel as a host. Since becoming Broncos head coach, Payton's X posts have been few and far between. File this one as a proud father flexing his daughter and handpicked running back.

Harvey was the No. 60 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft out of UCF. While Broncos fans have closed ranks around Harvey, the pick was initially panned by NFL mock-draftsters, who rated it as a 'reach' based on the 'consensus' big board.

However, hearing Payton speak with zeal about Harvey after the draft, and seeing his quickness, explosiveness, and gigantic quads at Broncos rookie minicamp, seems to have assuaged the concerns of even the most skeptical fans.

When the Harvey lightbulb went on during Denver's pre-draft scouting process, Payton was elated, but knew the Broncos had to keep it quiet. While it's true that Harvey was viewed in the press pre-draft as a late-Day 2, early-Day 3 pick, Payton knew that all it takes is one other team similarly falling in love with the prospect, and he can be taken off the board in an instant.

After trading back twice in Round 2, the Broncos weren't going to allow that possibility, turning in their draft card for Harvey.

"I can remember the afternoon, I can’t remember what afternoon, but I can remember the two hours on this player, and then it was like, 'alright, be quiet,' and that was hard," Payton said about his Harvey epiphany during the Broncos' scouting of the 2025 draft class. "I think he was going to be tricky as to, historically speaking, end of the second or third round, it just takes one other team."

Harvey led the FBS last year in runs of 10-plus yards, and rushed for nearly 3,000 yards over his final two seasons at UCF. The Broncos' second-round running back shares many traits with No. 6 overall pick Ashton Jeanty, whom Payton reportedly also loved before he was taken off the board early by the Las Vegas Raiders.

Make no mistake; the first box the Broncos needed Harvey to check was that of the explosive rusher. When Payton and company realized that Harvey also checked many of the ideal receiver-out-of-the-backfield boxes, that's when the Broncos worked to put a lid on their excitement, and the "be quiet" doctrine rolled throughout Dove Valley.

"When you look at the running skill set, it was, 'wow,' and explosive runs, all of those things," Payton said of Harvey following the draft.

Obviously, Payton is proud of his daughter, as she continues her career in sports media. And in case you couldn't tell, the Broncos head coach is pretty geeked up about getting Harvey in the fold.

As it stands, Harvey projects as the Broncos' No. 1 running back. He'll have to earn that role, though.

The Broncos reconvene for a voluntary minicamp on May 27-29. That's when the veterans will join the rookies at Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit.