Broncos camp: Position battles

Five position battles to watch as the Broncos open training camp.

Nickel cornerback
Veteran Nate Jones and second-year corner Alphonso Smith were supposed to compete for the job, but rookie Perrish Cox looked good in offseason practices and is part of the competition too.

Left guard/center
Russ Hochstein didn’t practice all offseason
because he was recovering from knee surgery. He’s supposed to be ready for camp, which will give the Broncos options. Hochstein can play guard or center. He’ll compete with a rookie
either way, either Zane Beadles (left guard) or
J.D. Walton (center).

Receiver hierarchy
Jabar Gaffney, Eddie Royal and Demaryius Thomas appear to be pretty good bets to be the Broncos’ top three receivers, but the pecking order shall
be determined through camp. Matthew Willis,
Brandon Lloyd, Kenny McKinley and Brandon Stokley are fighting for playing time — and
roster spots.

Kickoff and punt returner
Eddie Royal has the lead at both spots, according to coach Josh McDaniels. But Royal needs to have a better year on offense, and one way would be to limit his special teams work and keep him fresh. Rookie Perrish Cox was a good returner in college.

Punter
Not your traditional position battle, considering Britton Colquitt is the only punter on the roster. But if Colquitt, who has not punted in a NFL game, struggles in camp, the Broncos could quickly look into adding a veteran to compete.