UCF Professional Athletes

A pair of UCF alumni spent the week in Denver's injury report — and for one of them, Week 2 came too soon.

Marvin Mims Out; RJ Harvey a Game-Time Question

Wide receiver Marvin Mims was ruled out entirely for the Broncos' home matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars, sidelined by a foot injury that kept him out of practice all week. His absence removes a key piece of Denver's passing game and offers a clean look at how much the Broncos will miss him when he's not available.

The news was marginally better for running back RJ Harvey. After being listed as a Wednesday DNP with a hamstring tweak following Denver's 31–10 Monday Night Football loss to Kansas City — in which Harvey carried for 18 yards and added 4 receptions for 23 more — the second-year RB returned to limited practice on Thursday. He was ultimately tagged as questionable heading into the Jacksonville game.

Harvey's hamstring concern prompted immediate attention from the fantasy football community: with the former UCF standout's status uncertain, backfield handcuff Jonah Coleman emerged as a sleeper option with potential for a significant role elevation. The silver lining, per reporting, is that the injury appeared to be on the minor end of the spectrum.

Ricky Barber's Roller Coaster Week in Washington

UCF linebacker Ricky Barber had one of the more turbulent roster weeks among Knights in the NFL. The Commanders released Barber from their 53-man roster Thursday, signing veteran cornerback Isaac Yiadom in his place. But the story didn't end there — Washington turned around and elevated Barber from the practice squad ahead of their Week 2 trip to Dallas, using him as a situational defensive line piece against the Cowboys.

It's the kind of week that defines life on the roster bubble: cut, re-signed, elevated. Barber remains in Washington's plans for now, but his long-term roster security is clearly unsettled.

Elsewhere Among the Knights

Mike Hughes suited up for Atlanta in their Week 1 loss to Pittsburgh, though the Falcons cornerback didn't register notable statistical output in a 20–13 defeat. The rest of UCF's substantial NFL alumni contingent — spread across 30-plus rosters — largely avoided the injury report and the headlines this week, with Denver's pair commanding most of the Knights' spotlight.

The bigger storyline to watch: if Harvey plays through his hamstring issue Sunday and Mims misses extended time, UCF's most prominent NFL presence enters a pivotal stretch with real questions about durability and role.

UCF Alumni Making Noise Across the NFL

UCF's NFL pipeline is producing headlines on multiple fronts this week — from a running back turning heads in Denver to a quiet roster cut in Seattle to a pair of undrafted Knights proving doubters wrong in Washington.

RJ Harvey: Denver's Offensive Wild Card

The most compelling UCF story of the week belongs to RJ Harvey, who is drawing serious attention in Denver as a potential X-factor in the Broncos' bid for an offensive resurgence. The New York Times spotlighted Harvey as a wild card in that quest — high praise for a player still fighting to define his NFL identity. Harvey's athleticism and versatility out of the backfield make him the kind of chess piece offensive coordinators covet, and the Broncos' system appears built to use him creatively. If Denver's offense takes a step forward this season, Harvey could be a significant reason why.

Amari Kight: Seattle's Quiet Cut

While Harvey's star rises, UCF offensive tackle Amari Kight hit a rough patch. The Seahawks released the 25-year-old lineman following the return of veteran Bobby Hart, ending Kight's latest stint in Seattle. The move was quiet by NFL transaction standards but meaningful for a young player trying to stick on a roster. Kight remains unsigned, and at 25, there's still runway ahead — but the competition for backup offensive line spots is unforgiving, and Hart's familiarity with the organization proved to be the deciding factor.

Washington's UDFA Wave: Owens, Stevens, and Barber

Perhaps the most intriguing UCF cluster right now sits inside the Washington Commanders organization, where a group of undrafted free agents is quietly reshaping what general manager Adam Peters can expect from his scouting process. Tyler Owens, Drew Stevens, and Ricky Barber — all UCF products — are among the UDFA success stories drawing attention in a Yahoo Sports examination of how Peters' undrafted class could accelerate Washington's roster overhaul.

Owens and Stevens in particular have been flagged as players who've outperformed their draft-day status. For a Commanders franchise in the middle of a deliberate rebuild, UDFA hits aren't just feel-good stories — they're cost-controlled roster depth that buys the front office flexibility. If this group continues to deliver, it validates both UCF's development pipeline and Peters' eye for overlooked talent.

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Three distinct NFL storylines, three different outcomes — that's the UCF alumni experience in a single week. Harvey is ascending, Kight is regrouping, and a trio of Knights in Washington is rewriting what undrafted can mean. For a program that has steadily pushed players into the league, the diversity of those stories is itself a testament to how broadly the pipeline now reaches.

Three Knights are turning heads in NFL camps this August — and none of them are playing their way onto the bubble. They're playing their way into starting conversations.

RJ Harvey, Denver Broncos

Harvey enters his second year in Denver with something harder to manufacture than talent: clarity. The Broncos aren't being coy about his role in 2026 — the UCF product is in line for a significant workload, and the organization has made little effort to obscure it.

That transparency, however, comes with a catch for fantasy managers: Denver's approach to Harvey may involve a committee structure that caps his ceiling despite an elevated role. The Broncos appear committed to using Harvey as a central piece of the offense, but "central piece" in their system doesn't necessarily mean bell-cow, workhorse, or any other single-back designation that makes fantasy dashboards light up green.

What it does mean for Knights fans: the former UCF standout is entrenched on an ascending Denver roster and not looking over his shoulder heading into the regular season. Year two often separates the players who were flashes from the ones who belong — Harvey, by all organizational signals, belongs.

Julian Good-Jones & Ricky Barber, Washington Commanders

Washington's preseason Week 2 offered a two-for-one showcase for UCF alumni. Offensive lineman Julian Good-Jones drew favorable notes for his work alongside the Commanders' offense, reinforcing his case for a meaningful roster role as Washington's line continues to take shape under their current staff.

On the defensive side, linebacker Ricky Barber generated buzz of his own. The Commanders' coaching staff, operating under defensive coordinator Daronte Jones' scheme, appears to be finding real usage for Barber — a player whose physicality and motor made him a standout during his time in Orlando. Preseason is always a caveat-laden sample, but Barber's Week 2 performance added to a growing body of evidence that he's not just a camp body.

For a Commanders squad that has leaned into youth and competition throughout the offseason, both Good-Jones and Barber represent the kind of developmental wins that front offices build around.

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Three UCF alumni, two franchises, one week — and the Knights' NFL footprint looks as healthy as it has in years. Harvey's path in Denver is the highest-profile of the trio, but the Commanders' pair quietly underscores something UCF fans have known for a while: this program exports NFL-ready players at a consistent clip. The regular season will determine how much of the preseason buzz translates, but the foundation heading into Week 1 is strong across the board.