Jeff Legwold, ESPN Senior Writer 8y

Broncos want to see wire-to-wire performance from C.J. Anderson

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- In less than a week, the Denver Broncos open their offseason program and get their first look at a roster still under construction. After some need-specific moves in free agency at quarterback, offensive line and defense, the Broncos will have a group at their suburban Denver complex that coach Gary Kubiak has called "a good team, a really good team."

But as the draft approaches and with the possibility of another veteran player or two to be added, this is the second of a one-a-day look at where things stand at some of the positions that carried the biggest question marks when the offseason opened.

Tuesday: Quarterback

Tuesday: Running back

Wednesday: Offensive line

Who's in: The Broncos have four running backs on the roster with C.J. Anderson and Juwan Thompson as the only backs who have carried the ball in a regular-season game.

The Broncos matched a four-year offer sheet from the Miami Dolphins to keep Anderson, set to enter his fourth season. Thompson is set to enter his third season. Kapri Bibbs has spent most of the last two years on the team's practice squad while Cyrus Gray was signed as a "futures" player earlier this year.

None of the four is older than 26 -- Gray is 26 -- while Thompson and Bibbs are both 23.

Cap matters: Anderson, who will count $6 million against the salary cap this season, is the big-ticket player. He said even he was somewhat surprised the Broncos matched the Dolphins' offer sheet, but the Broncos have made it clear they expect Anderson to take the next step.

Anderson has not started more than seven games in any of his seasons and has not had more than 179 carries in a season. But they have paid him to be the feature back, which will mean a larger workload.

Gray, Thompson and Bibbs all come in at $675,000 or less against the cap for the coming season.

Who starts: It's unquestionably Anderson's job. The Broncos want to see Anderson arrive at offseason workouts looking fit and ready to go.

The Broncos have had questions about his conditioning at times and in 2014 he fell to No. 3 on the depth chart after looking sluggish in the team's OTAs and minicamps. But he roared down the stretch during that regular season, after injuries to both Montee Ball and Ronnie Hillman forced him into the lineup, with back-to-back games of more than 160 yards rushing. He played his best in some of the team's biggest moments.

Anderson was the Broncos' runner of choice in Super Bowl 50. Now they want to see a wire-to-wire performance in terms of consistency, preparation and front-line production.

What's left to do: The Broncos are expected to use, if the board falls right in this month's draft, at least one pick on another running back -- the University of California's Daniel Lasco is a player to keep an eye during the draft's third day.

Broncos coach Gary Kubiak has said he has monitored the recovery of free-agent running back Arian Foster from his torn Achilles tendon and believes Foster will work as hard "to get back on the field." But Foster is not expected to be physically ready until later in the offseason.

Depending how the Broncos believe things stand after the draft, Foster is another player they would consider.

Also, at least one fullback is on the way. As Kubiak said at the league meetings:

"There will be some on the roster. Hopefully we have a couple going into camp and we can get back to some of those two-back things. Those guys are hard to come by. They really are. I think in the draft this year there are a few guys. I'm excited about that. We'd like to have one of those guys be a part of our roster."

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