ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The math is what it always is. There is only one football to go around, after all.

But if things go as the Denver Broncos hope they will in the weeks and months to come, they will take that football and hand it to big group of running backs as the mood strikes. So much so that even with five running backs on their first 53-man roster of the season, they were still looking for more in reserve as their opener approached; they ponied up some big practice-squad money to add Jonathan Williams to their developmental group.

Offensive coordinator Mike McCoy did offer a preview of where he stands on the matter early in training camp when he said, "You can never have enough. You want to have enough guys out there, like we've said from 2002 on, we've always played with multiple backs back there. The tempo of the game, the flow of the game, we're going to play a number of guys."

And while that will undoubtedly fluster those in the fantasy football world who will want to know if one of the Broncos' backs will emerge with a consistent number of carries, one of the biggest items on Denver's offseason to-do list was the team's run game. And if it takes a committee to fix it, then a committee it shall be.

Because in 2016, the Broncos were 27th in the league in rushing yards per game (92.8), tied for 28th in yards per carry (3.6), tied for 20th in rushing touchdowns (11) and had just one 100-yard game from a running back all season.

"It's absolutely something we want to do better," Broncos coach Vance Joseph said. "That was something we needed to address."

The Broncos did sign guard Ron Leary and tackle Menelik Watson on the first day of free agency, then used their first-round draft pick on tackle Garett Bolles. They also added Jamaal Charles in free agency and drafted De'Angelo Henderson in the sixth round to add to the running-back mix.

C.J. Anderson has worked as the No. 1 back during training camp and the preseason. Devontae Booker was poised to split carries with Anderson when camp opened, but his physical turned up a wrist fracture, and the second-year pro won't be ready to play until after the start of the regular season.

But the Broncos like what they've seen from Charles -- who has played in eight games in the past two seasons combined because of knee troubles -- and Henderson showed some big-play potential during the preseason. McCoy has routinely involved backs in the passing game, which that is where Charles figures to get some of his snaps as well. So when Booker returns, that's four backs the Broncos would feel just fine about handing the ball to.

"We like where we're at," Anderson said. "... We have a lot of ways to come at a defense."

Anderson missed nine games in 2016 after suffering a season-ending knee injury in the Broncos' Oct. 24 victory over the Houston Texans; his 107 yards rushing in that game was the only time a Denver back hit triple digits. Anderson made cycling a big part of his offseason work and has said he feels "like my conditioning is the best it's been because I had something in my workouts this offseason and stuck with it."

But the four-year veteran is still coming back from knee surgery, Charles is something of a question mark and Booker is still recovering from that wrist surgery. That's why the Broncos will pay Williams $30,000 a week on the practice squad -- a total that, if he stayed there all 17 weeks of the regular season, would be more than the rookie minimum on the roster.

Joseph said it was an opportunity to acquire a just-in-case player the Broncos had liked both before the 2016 draft and after seeing him this preseason with the Bills.

"We were adding a good player," Joseph said. "If you watched him [Wednesday] in practice, he is very explosive. He is a young, healthy back."

The Broncos have kept much of the new offense under wraps in the preseason, so at least some of any new wrinkles will be revealed in Monday night's opener against the visiting Los Angeles Chargers (10:20 p.m. ET, ESPN/WatchESPN).

"I've said all along, we'll go as far as our O-line goes," Anderson said. "We could win games with 60 passes, but if we need to run the ball to get it done, we want to be able to do that. And we feel like no matter who's out there carrying the ball, we can get that done."