If the Broncos decide to select a skill-position playmaker on Day 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft, NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah believes there are several intriguing options.
The talent, though, won't dry up after Thursday night. And if the Broncos decide to target another position with their initial pick in April's draft, Jeremiah still believes there are Day 2 options to find a "Joker" player to add to Head Coach Sean Payton's offense.
Asked ahead of the Combine which players could fill that role — a mismatch player in the passing game who can expose a defense's weaknesses — Jeremiah identified a trio of options.
At the tight end position, Bowling Green's Harold Fannin Jr. fits the bill. The 2024 MAC Player of the Year, Fannin caught 117 passes for 1,555 yards and 10 touchdowns and was named an All-American.
"He's just got a real knack for it, a real feel for it [regarding] creating separation," Jeremiah said. "He kind of reminds me — it's sacrilegious to say it, because he's now going into the Hall of Fame — but he is like a mini Antonio Gates with his movements and how he moves around. It's a unique movement style that he has. But you're questioning, 'How fast is this guy?' Then you watch [games vs.] Penn State and Texas A&M, and he is just running away from everybody and creating a bunch of big plays."
Jeremiah believes the Broncos would need to use their second-round pick to snag Fannin, but a pair of running backs may be available later on Day 2.
"Jaydon Blue in the pass game out of Texas," Jeremiah said. "He's a legitimate 4.3[-second 40-yard dash] guy, and they use him on a bunch of different ways in the pass game. Angle routes. He can snap guys off. He can run up the seam. Even just getting him the ball in it the flat, with his speed, he's a weapon."
In addition to running for 730 yards and eight touchdowns, Blue caught 42 passes for 368 yards and six touchdowns in his final season at Texas.
Jeremiah also noted Central Florida's RJ Harvey, whom he called a "mix of Devonta Freeman and Tarik Cohen" at 5-foot-8. Harvey delivered 1,577 rushing yards and nearly another 300 yards in the passing game to go along with 25 total touchdowns in 2024.
"He's that type of fast, low to the ground, shifty [running back, and] is just going to be a nightmare," Jeremiah said. "They use him on wheel routes and get him the ball in the pass game as well."
As Fannin, Blue and Harvey prepare for their week at the Combine, teams will be watching — and it's possible one of them could make their case to be Denver's next "Joker" player.
