With the NFL's scouting combine set to open Feb. 17 and free agency to follow March 10, today marks the second installment of a position-by-position look of where things stand for the Denver Broncos at each spot on the depth chart, the salary-cap commitment, free agents and where their needs are greatest.
Today: Running backs. | Wednesday: Receivers | Rest of the series
This is where perhaps the most heated position battle of the offseason/training camp will be waged and the big prize is a spot in a proven scheme that has churned out 1,000-yard rushers season after season. C.J. Anderson closed out the 2014 season with the inside track on the starting job -- he rushed for 648 yards over the last six weeks of the regular season -- and his skill set, vision and one-cut decisiveness make him a quality fit for the new offense.
Montee Ball opened the '14 season as the starter, lost some confidence in the early going as the Broncos struggled to make room up front and didn't have a carry in a game from Oct. 12. He finished the year on injured reserve (groin injury). For the season, Broncos backs were hit at, or behind, the line of scrimmage on a third of the team's carries. Toss in Ronnie Hillman and you have the makings of a competition when any practice play could decide the issue.
The Alpha: At this moment, it's Anderson. He did enough behind an offensive line that struggled mightily at times in an offense that couldn't find its rhythm over the season's final month to open the offseason as the starter. What happens next, however, will be a test of his football maturity as well as his preparation given success can often be more difficult for some to handle than adversity. Ball, too, has promised to return "ready to win the job." Hillman has plenty of untapped potential as well, even as the Broncos keep waiting for the career light to go on with their former third-round pick. They thought it had when Hillman had two 100-yard games in a three-week span in October only to have his season derailed by a foot injury.
Salary cap: Ball, a former second-round pick, will count $944,816 against the salary cap this season while Anderson, who made the roster as an undrafted rookie in 2013, will count $589,167, and Hillman checks in at $942,708 against the cap. Juwan Thompson, who made the team as an undrafted rookie last season, will count $510,000 against the cap and Jeremy Stewart, who was signed off the Broncos' practice squad last season, is slated to count $660,000 at the moment because of his experience level. Kapri Bibbs is also under contract for '15 ($510,000 against the cap if he makes the roster).
Pending free agents: All of the backs on the roster are under contract for the coming season, with Hillman's contract that he signed as a rookie in '12 set to expire following the 2015 season. Anderson, also in the last year of his original rookie deal, will be a restricted free agent following the '15 season.
Who could stay: It's crowded and with Ball off injured reserve and intent on joining the fray to try and retrieve a starting job that was once his, the group that finished the season in '14, will not be the same. They're all under contract, however, so the decisions will be made solely on how they perform. Anderson and Ball will likely head into the offseason workouts as the No. 1 and No. 2 backs, respectively.
Who could go: It's now or never for Hillman, who has at times flashed his athletic potential and at other times flashed an immaturity the coaches keep hoping he grows out of at some point. The new bottom line is the new coaching staff believes it knows exactly what it wants from a running back and has a track record that shows it knows how to find it. Ball and Anderson are expected to push each other and Hillman will have to raise his game significantly to stay in the mix.
What they like/want: They want decisiveness, they want vision, they want one-cut runners who don't waste time or opportunities as the plays unfold. It's a new staff, which means a new offense, and while the coaches will have looked at the game video from the past season, the offseason program will offer a clean slate of sorts for all of the backs to show they can be the kind of ball carrier the Broncos' play-callers want.
Need index (1 is low priority, 5 the highest): 1, it's a big crowd and while the Broncos may add to it in the search for depth, they have bigger needs to address elsewhere.