Photo: Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

The running back position battle in Patriots training camp this season is wide open and filled with interesting talent, which of course makes it the most fun to speculate who will make the roster and have an impact on the team this upcoming season.

Dion Lewis and LeGarrette Blount are still the starters, and poised to get most of the workload by committee. If both can find a way to remain off the injury report, the other players will likely be fighting for scraps. It must also be mentioned that both players are coming off of season-ending injuries last year, Lewis with a torn ACL in week 9 against the Washington Redskins, and Blount to a hip injury in week 14 against the Houston Texans.

There isn’t a whole lot to dissect with either Lewis or Blount, they will give the Patriots a nice one-two punch in the backfield, combining Blount’s force and power, and Lewis’ savy movement and speed.

Tyler Gaffney has been getting a ton of reps. Very interested to see what he can do in a preseason game. Has never come this far in camp. — Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) August 8, 2016

Tyler Gaffney is, in all honesty, the most interesting player of this group. A really fun player to watch when he was at Stanford, Gaffney was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Ever since his rookie training camp when he tore the lateral meniscus in his left knee, he has bounced from practice squad to waived/injured.

“Camp is going great,” Gaffney told Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. “Still here, still healthy, that’s all you can ask for coming off the two seasons that I’ve had. I’m excited to be contributing.”

Gaffney has seen an increased workload in training camp and seems to be making the most of it, but the games are what matter and we may get to see what he can do on Thursday night against the New Orleans Saints.

James White is a player who got a lot of playing time towards the end of the season due to injuries to Lewis and Blount, and was mostly inconsistent. White played in 14 games last year, starting in only one, and caught 40 passes for 410 yards and 4 touchdowns, but the inconsistent parts of his game were the drops in the playoffs and his inability to effectively move the ball between the tackles. James White has a lot of the same usefulness as Dion Lewis and could be on the roster bubble if he doesn’t have a great camp.

Donald Brown came to New England in free agency this offseason and is fighting for a spot in a crowded backfield. He is more of a pass-catching back than a downhill runner, but his career average of 4.1 yards per carry shows that he is capable of being a three down back. Although Brown was signed as insurance if Lewis experienced any setbacks with ACL recovery, he has his own history of injuries and may not prove to be reliable. His main competition in camp is James White and if he can beat White out, he may have a spot on the 53-man roster. If Donald Brown does get cut, he could hear from the Patriots again a few weeks in to the regular season should injuries ravage the backfield.

Brandon Bolden is mainly a special teams player who has proven to be a semi-reliable back when his number has been called and he is versatile enough between the tackles as well as pass-protection and catching out of the backfield. Nothing about Bolden is flashy or eye-opening, but it would be a shock if he were cut in camp.

Joey Iosefa is really more of a fullback than a tailback and could be on the outside looking in with James Develin back from a broken right tibia last pre-season.

DJ Foster had a lot of hype surrounding him after signing with the Patriots as an undrafted rookie free agent this offseason, but he tweaked a hamstring in minicamp back in June and the Patriots have been taking it slow with him in training camp. Foster has a ton of upside, but with a crowded running back group and limited work due to his hamstring, he may be a candidate for the practice squad for the time being.

There are a lot of interesting positional battles happening with the New England Patriots during this 2016 training camp, but the running backs that Bill Belichick decides to roll with this season will be worth keeping an eye on.

Follow me on Twitter @DarianHutchins for more Patriots insight.