Slow your roll on those Royce Freeman takes. This is Devontae Booker's job to lose -- initially, anyway.

Mike Klis of 9News "reports," in his pre-training camp preview of the Denver Broncos' running backs, that Booker is expected to carry the mail in the regular-season opener against the Seattle Seahawks.

"Booker has good command of the offensive playbook and has become a competent pass protector, so he is expected to start September 9 in the season opener against Seattle," he wrote.

Klis cautions that Freeman, the team's third-round draft pick, will push for starting duties this summer, as previously noted. Denver believes they got a steal in Oregon's all-time leading rusher, a rich man's version of ex-RB1 C.J. Anderson.

"Booker has proven to be a nice complimentary back. Can he stave off Freeman during the preseason and handle the starting role?" he wrote.

"Two of the NFL’s best backs last year, New Orleans’ Alvin Kamara and [Kareem] Hunt, were taken in the third round. Each rookie made the Pro Bowl. The Broncos hope Freeman can be the league’s next third-round gem."

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In related "news," second-year man De'Angelo Henderson has the upper hand for the No. 3 gig and undrafted free agent (and Colorado product) Phillip Lindsay is billed as the sleeper in a backfield that also includes seventh-rounder David Williams.

But it is Booker and Freeman who will get the spotlight treatment when training camp officially kicks off Saturday. The former, who's registered 1,451 total yards (911 rushing, 540 receiving) across two seasons, is atop the tentative depth chart, because seniority rules.

“Booker is an experienced back," Broncos head coach Vance Joseph said last month. "He’s our most experienced back now. I’ve been impressed with his football IQ, as a third-down back and how he’s got the ball. I’ve said this four or five times: we want two or three guys to be our main core backs. Booker’s definitely going to be in that mix. He’s our most experienced back so I’m expecting big things from Booker.”

Freeman, though, is no slouch. He's "a big banger that we haven’t had for a while," according to general manager John Elway, and showed well during spring practices, where he earned first-string reps.

“It’s hard to evaluate a running back without pads, but you can see the cutting ability," Joseph said. "You can see the vision he has when he’s carrying the football. He catches the ball well, also. His evaluation won’t be complete until we put pads on, but he’s a very detailed player. He knows what to do, and that’s half the battle with runners.”

Because the NFL is no longer a one-back sport, the Broncos are likely to employ a committee. The most sensible setup is Freeman handling early-down work before ceding touches to Booker on passing downs, with Henderson giving both a breather on the occasional series.