The depth of the Broncos roster isn’t just exciting for the team and fans.

It’s also exciting for fantasy football fanatics.

General manager George Paton and coach Sean Payton have built what looks to be one of the deepest rosters in the NFL. Several rookies are expected to contribute right away.

And those rookies are expected to be contributors for fantasy football teams as well. 

“What I tell people is don’t let J.K. Dobbins stand in the way of you drafting RJ Harvey,” Fantasy Life senior analyst Kendall Valenzuela told The Denver Gazette. “I believe that RJ Harvey is going to be a great pick in fantasy drafts. It might take a bit longer and you might need patience.

“Harvey feels like such a Sean Payton guy.”

Neither Harvey nor Dobbins is ranked in the top 20 of positional rankings on sites like ESPN, Yahoo! and The Ringer. Harvey is ranked ahead of Dobbins by slim margins, even though Dobbins is considered the starter in Denver.

“I think RJ Harvey’s one of my favorite picks to walk out of drafts with if I can’t get an Omarion Hampton or a TreVeyon Henderson,” Valenzuela said.

Harvey is not the only Denver rookie Valenzuela sees as a solid pick up in fantasy. Valenzuela is also very high on rookie Pat Bryant. The rookie receiver has shown plenty in camp and preseason games, but the talk of training camp was Troy Franklin.

“I haven’t taken him (Franklin) a lot in mock drafts. I’d rather take Pat Bryant than him,” Valenzuela said. “Bryant could really stand out as a late sleeper pick that you say, ‘Wow, I’m really glad I got him.'”

Most Broncos offensive players are not ranked high in fantasy. But there is potential for breakouts from players like Harvey, Bryant and even Franklin. Second-year quarterback Bo Nix is also part of that group. Nix threw for 29 touchdowns and rushed for four more during his rookie season and there is plenty of expectation for him to exceed those numbers.

“I’m not drafting him with the expectations that he’s going to finish as a top-three quarterback in fantasy football,” Valenzuela said. “But being right inside that top ten feels right to me, especially with how this new-look offense and having Sean Payton being able to lift Nix up. I think inside the top 10 for fantasy football is right where he should be going.”

The Broncos defense has the highest ranking for fantasy football. The Ringer and Fantasy Life rank them as the top defense for fantasy, and Denver is in the top three for Yahoo and ESPN. A defense can help you in fantasy football, but it’s tough to count on a defense to win your league.

“I’ll throw that whole draft plan away if I can walk out with the Denver Broncos defense,” Valenzuela said. “You can’t necessarily win the whole thing with them, but they put you up in a good spot.”

Fantasy rankings by position

ESPN

Quarterback: No. 7 Bo Nix

Running back: No. 27 RJ Harvey, No. 34 J.K. Dobbins

Wide receiver: No. 24 Courtland Sutton, No. 57 Marvin Mims Jr.

Tight end: No. 8 Evan Engram

Kicker: No. 14 Wil Lutz

Defense/ST: No. 3 Broncos

Yahoo

Quarterback: No. 8 Bo Nix

Running back: No. 24 RJ Harvey

Wide receiver: No. 23 Courtland Sutton

Tight end: No. 9 Evan Engram

Kicker: No. 8 Wil Lutz

Defense/ST: No. 2 Broncos

The Ringer

Quarterback: No. 8 Bo Nix

Running back: No. 24 RJ Harvey

Wide receiver: No. 25 Courtland Sutton

Tight end: No. 9 Evan Engram

Kicker: No. 6 Wil Lutz

Defense/ST: No. 1 Broncos

Fantasy Life

Quarterback: No. 9 Bo Nix

Running back: No. 22 RJ Harvey, No. 32 J.K. Dobbins

Wide receiver: No. 26 Courtland Sutton

Tight end: No. 10 Evan Engram

Kicker: No. 9 Wil Lutz

Defense/ST: No. 1 Broncos