The Denver Broncos are looking into the possibility of bringing back running back Ronnie Hillman. Hillman is an unrestricted free agent as his contract expired after this past season. The only team that expressed interested in him was the Green Bay Packers.
Denver selected Hillman in the third round of the 2012 draft. In his rookie year he rushed for 327 yards and one touchdown. His best year was last season when his total was 863 yards and seven touchdowns. In his four-year career he rushed for 1,845 yards and 12 touchdowns. Hillman is also a threat to catch the football with 431 yards and one touchdown receiving.
Hillman was not the starter last season. C.J. Anderson started most games. Anderson was the hardnosed runner and is bigger than Hillman. Hillman entered the game and was the change of pace back. He is a lot faster than Anderson and the defense would have to adjust to tackle him.
The Broncos should re-sign him. He brings a different type of running game than C.J. Anderson. Hillman may not make defenders miss due to his size but rather his speed. The only problem with Hillman is he doesn’t seem to hit the holes as hard as C.J. Anderson.
If the Broncos decide not to bring back Hillman, they have plenty of options. They have two running backs besides C.J. Anderson, Juwan Thompson and Kapri Bibbs. Thompson has 320 rushing yards and three touchdowns in his two years in a Broncos’ uniform. He has 76 yards receiving. Bibbs appeared in one game this season and didn’t have any rushing attempts and was mostly on the practice squad.
The Broncos could also draft a running back. They have a total of 10 picks and might use one to pick up a running back in the later rounds. The Broncos could also sign one as an undrafted free agent. The problem with this option is that a rookie running back has not played a down in the NFL and may not play at all. Hillman at least has the experience of being behind C.J. Anderson.
Who should be the backup running back to C.J. Anderson?
Hillman!
We will see if the Broncos decide to bring him back. I do like the combo of C.J. Anderson and Hilman. It worked last year.