After the release of last year’s starting RB Travis Henry, the Broncos will have a new younger look at the position.  Selvin Young will likely be the main running back and he’s predicting that he’ll rush for 2,000 yards in 2008 behind the Broncos’ offensive line.  That is wishful thinking by Young who was an undrafted free agent find for the Broncos last season.  He played in 15 games (8 starts) for the Broncos last season and he carried the ball 140 times for 729 yards (5.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 35 passes for 231 yards (6.6 avg).  Young is a very fast back but he doesn’t have the muscle to consistently pick up yards between the tackles.  He will be the main man in the running game but the Broncos will also use other backs.

Veteran Michael Pittman was signed just before the Broncos cut Travis Henry and he’s a solid vet.  Pittman is a good receiver and he also runs with power between the tackles.  Pittman played in 10 games (3 starts) for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season and he carried the ball 68 times for 286 yards (4.2 ypc).  He also caught 26 passes for 191 yards (7.3 avg).  Look for Pittman to double those numbers this season in Denver.  Pittman has now played in 143 games (79 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 1,316 times for 5,307 yards (4.0 ypc) with 21 TD runs.  He also has caught 415 passes for 3,400 yards (8.2 avg) with 8 TD grabs.

Andre Hall will be the #3 RB for the Broncos this season.  He was a rookie last year and he showed a pretty good skill set in limited action.  Hall played in 10 games (1 start) with the Broncos last season and he carried the ball 44 times for 216 yards (4.9 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 2 passes for 69 yards (34.5 avg).  Look for Hall to have a much bigger role in 2008 with the Broncos.

Rookie Ryan Torain is starting out behind the 8-ball as he is recovering from a torn ACL.  Torain is a power back as he gets most of his yards between the tackles.  Torain averaged 93.8 yards rushing per game, 5.5 yards per carry and he scored 12 TD runs in only 19 games (14 starts) at Arizona State.  He also caught 5 TD passes out of the 25 balls he caught in college.  Torain has a nice upside especially in the Broncos’ style of offense.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B