Devontae Booker

Booker was a proven pass catcher out of the backfield as he caught at least 30 passes and averaged 8.23 yards per reception throughout his first three years in the league with the Broncos, but he logged just 24 total offensive snaps in 2019 as his niche role diminished almost entirely. The former community college standout from Sacramento was a Raiders fan growing up as he now joins the silver and black on a one-year deal, to work behind Josh Jacobs and Jalen Richard.

Booker has all but proven himself as a passing down back at this point, as his 134 career targets yielded 99 catches for 815 yards (73.9 percent catch rate, 6.1 YPT), but he's demonstrated little beyond that unfortunately. He can't break tackles in the NFL like he did at Utah, and he otherwise struggles to elude tacklers. Now with Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman established ahead of him, it's hard to project more than 300 or so snaps for Booker in Denver. If he makes a fantasy impact this year, it likely will require at least one of those runners ahead of him to get hurt. The Broncos actually signed Theo Riddick to replace Booker on passing downs, but Riddick suffered a shoulder fracture in the first week of the preseason.

For the second straight season, Booker failed to do much with his opportunities, falling short of 4.0 YPC and finding the end zone once in 13 games. Even with C.J. Anderson heading out the door this offseason, the 2016 fourth-round pick isn't guaranteed a lead role in the Denver backfield, or even a significant increase in touches. Coming out of Utah, his patience, burst and pass-catching skills seemed to make Booker a great fit for the Broncos offense, but those traits haven't been evident in the NFL. With Bill Musgrave taking over as offensive coordinator from Mike McCoy (who took over from Rick Dennison), Booker will need to adapt to his third scheme in three years. He's had trouble staying healthy, dealing with a preseason knee injury as a rookie and then wrist surgery, which delayed the start of his 2017 campaign, but even when he's been on the field he's had trouble making an impact. Denver used a third-round pick on Royce Freeman in the 2018 draft, and last year's preseason darling De'Angelo Henderson remains, so Booker needs to hit the ground running to lock down a major role.

Booker had an opportunity to claim the starting job in Denver last year after C.J. Anderson injured his knee in Week 7, but instead the rookie flopped in the lead role, failing to top 3.3 YPC for seven straight games after Anderson went down. Much of the blame can be laid on an offensive line that struggled to open holes and on a passing game that gave defenses plenty of incentive to stack the box, but Booker himself displayed little of the vision, patience or burst that he flashed in college. The Broncos brought back Mike McCoy to take over as offensive coordinator and re-made their O-line in the offseason, which offers the hope of a more productive running game. On the other hand, the team also re-made its backfield as Jamaal Charles will join a healthy Anderson in a fierce competition for touches that might leave little room for Booker. Further muddying the picture, Booker had surgery on his wrist in late July, with the recovery timetable estimated at 6-8 weeks. He's said to be targeting a Week 3 return, but even if that happens, he'll have missed an opportunity to prove himself in training camp and the preseason. It's unclear if he'll be involved in the offense once he's available.

Booker is a decisive, inside grinder who looks like a good fit for Gary Kubiak's one-cut running game. His hands could go either way — he's shown the ability to be a factor in the passing game, but he also had fumbling problems in college. Booker is also old for an NFL rookie — he turned 24 in late May — and his initial progress was held back by a springtime knee injury. He's expected to be fine by summer camp, however, and he's more of a threat to C.J. Anderson than Ronnie Hillman is.