Broncos need rookie Devontae Booker to shine with C.J. Anderson lost to injured reserve

The Denver Broncos have relied heavily on the run to lead the way on offense, and for seven weeks that meant leaning on C.J. Anderson. But now the running back is on injured reserve due to a knee injury, meaning it will be on the shoulders of Devontae Booker to carry the Broncos to the postseason.

Well, not entirely. The Broncos still need Trevor Siemian to play well, but ideally the team doesn’t want to ask the 2015 seventh-round pick to do too much. In a 21-13 loss to the San Diego Chargers, Siemian completed 30 of 50 passes and that’s far too many attempts for a team that relies on grinding out wins with its defense.

The game plan for the Broncos needs to allow a stat line close to the 14-of-25 passing performance Siemian had in a 27-9 win against the Houston Texans, which was balanced 35 rushing attempts by the Broncos.

Anderson led the way with 107 rushing yards on 16 attempts in the win, but suffered a meniscus injury that required surgery to repair. He landed on Denver’s injured reserve, although it’s still possible he could return in time to contribute in the postseason.

Now it’s up to Booker to handle most of the carries and, luckily for the Broncos, the fourth-round rookie has looked up to the task.

Booker was a workhorse at Utah where he racked up 2,773 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns in just two seasons after transferring from a junior college. While he fumbled his first NFL carry in Week 1, he bounced back with 46 yards on nine carries in Week 2.

It wasn’t until last week that Booker really saw extended time in the backfield and he did well in the role, finishing with 83 yards on 17 carries, and recording his first NFL touchdown.

The 4.9 yards per carry by Booker in Week 7 were enough to keep the Broncos offense balanced and rolling, and that’s exactly what the team is going to need the rookie to continue to do with Anderson out of action. That starts on Sunday against the Chargers.