RJ Harvey Camp Update — August 23: The First Nix Touchdown Went His Way

The first touchdown Bo Nix threw in his return from ankle surgery went to RJ Harvey — a 21-yard scoring catch that finished a six-play, 65-yard opening drive against Green Bay on Friday, per Chad Jensen at Mile High Huddle. It was Denver's only touchdown of a 33-13 loss, and it came with the first-team offense on the field. For a player whose calling card is the receiving role, catching the starting quarterback's first live touchdown of the year is the right kind of week.

The backfield context kept moving his way too, though not through anything Harvey controlled. J.K. Dobbins was rested again for the Green Bay game, per Jensen, which means Denver has now played two preseason games without its presumed workhorse taking a snap. No reporting we found this week charted the carry split behind him, so we cannot tell you how the ground touches divided among Harvey, Jonah Coleman and the rest — the honest answer is that the receiving flash is the documented part of Harvey's week.

For those hearing this fresh: the June read split Harvey's rookie season into a durable half and a rented half — the durable half was the real receiving role in Sean Payton's offense, the rented half was a touchdown rate history says regresses — and the structural question was the crowd around him, Dobbins above and Coleman below. This week fed the durable half.

The schedule now does Harvey a favor. Sean Payton wants his starters playing into the third quarter of Friday's finale against Minnesota, per Will Petersen at Denver Sports, which should produce the first extended look at how the backfield touches actually divide when the first team stays out there. What to watch: Harvey's snaps and touches across those quarters, whether Dobbins finally plays, and how the cutdown to 53 on Sunday shapes the room. We'll check after cut day.

_Data via nflverse._