Denver Broncos 53-man roster prediction after preseason opener

Running backs: 4 (10/53)

Javonte Williams
Samaje Perine
Tyler Badie/free agent
Michael Burton (FB)

Let's talk about a couple of things at this particular position group.

First, the RB3 competition. This currently seems to be a race between Tyler Badie and Jaleel McLaughlin with Tony Jones Jr. sort of just there. Badie got the first reps for the Broncos against Arizona after Samaje Perine and he looked alright. Jaleel McLaughlin came in and did enough to probably be "3b" if you consider Badie "3a" at this point, but certainly he's a more enticing fourth option than Tony Jones Jr.

I'm not sold the Broncos will go into the season with just the backs they have on their roster. Free agents (notable ones) like Ezekiel Elliott are still out there. Kareem Hunt is still out there. Players will get waived by other teams and the pro scouting department is going to have to do its thing. I don't know if the third RB is on the team and I think you could get guys like Badie and McLaughlin to the practice squad given what we've seen so far. That's subject to change.

Second, Michael Burton at the fullback position should be looking over his shoulder at rookie free agent Nate Adkins. Adkins is listed as a tight end but he can play all over the formation. I don't think the Broncos would hesitate to cut Burton and keep Adkins if Burton isn't able to help pick up some of the pass protection issues the team faced in the first preseason game. Making sure defenders don't hit Russell Wilson is part of the reason Burton has any value to this team at all.