If former Notre Dame football star running back Audric Estime thought he was entering the 2025 offseason as the odds-on favorite to be the starter for the Denver Broncos, he might need to think again.
Estime had a decent if not spectacular 2024 rookie season. Part of the reason it stopped short of great was he suffered through a couple of different injuries. The former Irish star has made comments this winter as though he’s ready to take the mantle of next great Broncos rusher. Denver might not be so sure.
Audric Estime faces biggest challenge yet after Broncos invest in new running back
Exhibit A as to why the ex-Notre Dame football star should be worried is that his team spent its second-round pick on a new running back. The Broncos chose former UCF rusher R.J. Harvey with the No. 60 pick overall in this weekend’s draft. That should be high enough to convince Audric Estime that his job is officially in trouble.
A new RB in orange & blue.
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) April 26, 2025
Welcome to #BroncosCountry, @rjharvey07! pic.twitter.com/vjZKtzxWv9
It’s not as though Denver had a ton of draft picks. There were some teams (cough Browns cough) that seemed to be picking every other spot, especially on Saturday. But Estime’s team had just the standard seven picks. And one of them was on Harvey.
It makes sense why Denver would be excited about the former Golden Knight. Over his career at UCF he ran for 3,792 and 43 touchdowns. That included career highs in 2024 with 1,577 yards and a whopping 22 TDs. He is also at least somewhat of a receiving threat, posting 61 career catches for 720 yards and an additional 4 touchdowns.
Those numbers are all better than what Estime put up at Notre Dame, though one reason for that is he was splitting carries far more than Harvey did. With the Irish, the running back ran for 2,321 yards and 29 touchdowns. His career best also came in his final year in college, running for 1,341 yards and 18 TDs.
In his rookie year with the Broncos, Audric Estime played in 13 games and started one, carrying 76 times for 310 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Those numbers were decent. It doesn’t appear they were good enough to guarantee that the former Notre Dame football star is “the man” in Denver. Harvey’s pick is a warning shot to Audric Estime. Now it’s up to him to prove he’s got what it takes to take the starting spot.