Broncos’ running back derby just starting
By Chris Tomasson 
| August 5, 2009 | 11:15 AM
Broncos running back Peyton Hillis is one of five players competing for the starting job. (Photo from Newscom)
It might be easier to say who is not a candidate to emerge as the Broncos’ featured running back.
Terrell Davis has no plans to come out of retirement.
Maurice Clarett is in prison. So he wouldn’t be available to make another Denver training camp appearance.
Laurence Maroney, Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris are not candidates, although no doubt Broncos coach Josh McDaniels, who likes all things Patriot, wishes they were. Those players are still on New England’s roster, but McDaniels, a former Patriots assistant, was at least able pry away LaMont Jordan, the team’s third-leading rusher last season.
Jordan is a candidate to be the Broncos’ featured back.
So is Correll Buckhalter.
So is Peyton Hillis.
So is Ryan Torain.
So is Knowshon Moreno. That is, if the first-round draft pick ever signs.
“Anybody can win it,” Torain said.
Torain is sounding a lot like his coach, who won’t say whether any of his backs have stepped to the forefront during the first week of training camp. Of course, next week, even if it pains him, McDaniels must put out a depth chart.
“They’re all in the mix,” McDaniels said, indicating the depth chart he puts out might not mean much anyway. “We’re not going to name the starter for a long time.”
It used to not matter who the Broncos made their featured back. Whoever it was gained 1,000 yards.
In the 10 seasons before the past one, six different players had 1,000-yard campaigns.
Last season, though, injuries piled up at running back. When the dust settled, Denver’s leading rusher — rookie Hillis — had a measly 343 yards.
McDaniels saw the same thing happen last season as New England’s offensive coordinator. Injuries hit running backs hard, most notably Maroney being lost for most of the season due to a shoulder problem.
“We have good depth,” McDaniels said. “And that’s very important. I know I found that out the hard way last year, and this team went through the same kind of thing. We cannot have enough good (running backs).”
But five players potentially battling it out to be the starter at a marquee position? That’s not often seen in the NFL.
Buckhalter thought it was a traffic jam when his former team, Philadelphia, once had three guys fighting for prime running-back duties.
“The closest I could relate to was 2003, when we had me, Brian Westbrook and Duce Staley,” Buckhalter said. “We had the three-headed monster.”
The three rotated the position that season, with Westbrook gaining 613 yards, Buckhalter 542 and Staley 463. Each had at least four starts.
While several backs may get quality time, McDaniels will have to start somebody. Perhaps straws will be drawn on the sideline. Or maybe there will several rounds of rock, paper, scissors.
Jordan and Buckhalter, both nine-year veterans, appear to be the top candidates to start the opener. Jordan, whose Patriots ties certainly help his resume, gained 1,025 yards with Oakland in 2005, and Buckhalter has four career 100-yard games despite just 16 starts.
Hillis is more of a fullback, but McDaniels said the Broncos mostly will use one-back sets. While he might not start, Hillis, a McDaniels favorite, is a good bet to be in for plenty of snaps.
“I can do a lot of things,” said Hillis, who averaged 5.0 yards per carry as a rookie and had a 129-yard outing against the New York Jets. “We have really smart coaches. Wherever they put me, I’ll be satisfied and ready and willing to do what I they want me to do.’’
It can’t hurt to throw praise around while battling for the starting spot. Torain, who gained 69 yards last season during an injury-riddled rookie campaign, noted that the Broncos have a “lot of great vets and a great rookie” also in contention.
But McDaniels’ praise lately for Moreno has been limited. McDaniels liked him enough to take him with the No. 12 pick, but it’s doubtful he will have much mercy for Moreno missing quality time while holding out in a contract dispute.
“At this point, if you have missed this many practices, this many meetings and this many walkthroughs, you are going to be behind,” McDaniels said. “We are playing (Aug. 14), so there are a lot of things that we are going over that we cannot just sit back and go over again and again and again. Every practice is valuable, and that really applies to everybody.”
You better believe every play is important in training camp to the meticulous McDaniels.
“Everything matters,” Buckhalter said. “I can speak for every guy in that backfield. We’re preparing in the (meeting) rooms, and coming out here on the field and trying to execute.”
Whoever ends up executing the best will emerge from this five-headed monster.
correll buckhalter, denver broncos, knowshon moreno, lamont jordan, peyton hillis, running backs, ryan torain
