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Following the departure of longtime starter C.J. Anderson earlier this offseason, the Denver Broncos have to sort out who will take on most of the responsibility in the backfield.
According to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk, Denver's first depth chart has third-year running back Devontae Booker listed as the starter for the first preseason game on Saturday night against the Minnesota Vikings.
The Broncos released their first depth chart of the year and it features Booker in the top slot. Freeman is No. 2 with De'Angelo Henderson, Dave Williams and Phillip Lindsay making up the rest of the group.
It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Booker is currently leading the charge given that he has experience in the league with the team's offensive game plan. His role was limited behind Anderson in the last couple of years, recording just 299 rushing yards on 70 carries and a touchdown in 13 games played this past season. The 26-year-old has a chance to firmly secure a major role in the offense as the primary running back.
However, rookie Royce Freeman has already made a strong impression on the coaching staff, earning praise throughout the offseason. He could become the main challenger for Booker to vie for that starting job prior to the start of the regular season. Throughout his collegiate career at Oregon, Freeman was a major factor in the running game, and he'll try to showcase that ability in the preseason.
This first depth chart does provide clarity at where things stand in the backfield at this juncture, but that could certainly change in the coming weeks ahead of the start of the 2018 regular season.
