By Jordan Long
The Denver Broncos open up training camp this Saturday. Denver is going to search for a starting running back during camp. They released last year’s starter C.J. Anderson on April 16th and he signed with the Carolina Panthers. Denver is left with Devontae Booker, De’Angelo Henderson, Royce Freeman, David Williams, and Phillip Lindsay at the position.
Devontae Booker is expected to be the starter. Booker enters his 3rd season with the Denver Broncos. He was the backup to Anderson, rushing for 911 yards and 5 touchdowns in his career. Booker has never been a starter and hasn’t broken the 1,000 yard rushing mark in a season. This is his chance to shine.
Henderson is in his 2nd season. He appeared in 5 games last season. Henderson didn’t rush the ball well with 13 rush yards in 5 carries with an average yards per rush of 1.9 yards. He should see more action this year.
After Booker and Henderson, the position is wide open. Freeman, Williams, and Lindsay are going to battle for 2 spots. They are all rookies. Freeman was selected by Denver in the 3rd round, 71st overall. He played his college football at the University of Oregon in the difficult Pac-12 conference. In 4 years he rushed for 5,621 yards with an impressive average yards per rush of 5.9 and added 60 touchdowns.
Freeman proved in the college game he was able to carry the rock and avoided being tackled on first contact. Denver selected him hoping he can do the same thing in the NFL.
Williams was picked by Denver in the 7th round. He split his college career between South Carolina and Arkansas. From 2014 to 2016 he was with South Carolina. He spent 2017 with Arkansas. Williams is not the runner Freeman is with 1,450 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns during his college career. His average yards per rush was 4.8. He will need to prove to the Denver Broncos’ coaching staff he can play the game at the NFL level. If not, Denver could always place him on the practice squad.
The dark horse in this competition is Phillip Lindsay. Lindsay wasn’t drafted and signed with the Denver Broncos as a college free agent. He played his college football up the road in Boulder, Colorado for the University of Colorado Buffalos. During his 4 years there he ran for 3,775 yards and 36 touchdowns with an average yards per rush of 4.9. He eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark twice. He has a chip on his shoulder since he is the only one who wasn’t drafted.
The Broncos know the running back position is going to be young. They are going to use training camp to find a backup. It is possible at the end of the preseason, Denver could keep all of them while placing 2 on the practice squad.
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