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The Denver Broncos' ballyhooed quarterback competition will garner the headlines, but who's lining up behind them is an equally important storyline.
The Broncos head into training camp the owner of a stacked running back corps, spearheaded by workhorse C.J. Anderson and veteran free-agent pickup Jamaal Charles. They also have second-year man Devontae Booker, who's recovering from a fractured wrist, and rookie sixth-rounder De'Angelo Henderson on the depth chart.
That's a lot of cooks in a small kitchen. And it brings about more questions than answers.
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Anderson, returning from a season-ending knee injury, is the favorite to open as the de-facto starter. Depending on how he plays and how the rest of the competition unfolds, could the Broncos think about trading him and clearing his $3 million salary cap number from the books?
Likewise, Charles is coming off at least his fourth career knee operation. The longtime Kansas City Chief changed divisional hats this offseason in his quest to win a title. But if his knee issues act up this summer, will the Broncos end the experiment early (and with no cap ramification)?
Booker had an up-and-down rookie campaign in 2016, as he dealt with his share of fumbles and ineffective play. Some of the latter could be blamed on the lackluster offensive line, though new head coach Vance Joseph isn't big on excuses. Booker isn't going to see much, if any, work this August, but Joseph did say he expects the second-year back to return for the regular season. If no one has taken the reins of the competition by that point, he could be in for a shot at significant playing time once he's 100 percent.
SportsLine projects Booker seeing close to the same workload as Charles if he can get healthy for the regular-season opener, while Anderson is in line to lead the backfield in touches:
| RuAtt | RuYd | RuAvg | RuTD | Recpt | ReYd | ReAvg | ReTD | FP* | |
| C.J. Anderson | 172 | 661 | 3.8 | 6 | 32 | 247 | 7.8 | 1 | 128 |
| Jamaal Charles | 109 | 420 | 3.9 | 3 | 34 | 289 | 8.6 | 2 | 90 |
| Devontae Booker | 99 | 360 | 3.6 | 3 | 26 | 229 | 8.7 | 1 | 76 |
*Fantasy points
And then there's Henderson, nicknamed "Hop," who blends a nice combination of power and agility. Surely the Broncos wouldn't cut their sixth-round pick, but can they squeeze him on to the 53-man roster? Or is he destined for the practice squad, where any other team could pluck him away?
Along with starting fullback Andy Janovich, that's five RB options for the final roster -- roughly a fifth of the final 53.
Which is exactly how Joseph wants it.
"The running back position, you need two or three guys who can carry the load. It's no longer a one-guy position. So, I'm excited to have Jamaal, C.J., Book, even De'Angelo in the mix there. It's a good group. It's going to be competitive and that's the way it should be," Joseph said in May, via ESPN.com.
