ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The Denver Broncos opened training camp July 17 at the team’s facility as they prepare to face the Atlanta Falcons Aug. 1 in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. Here’s a 53-man roster projection:

QUARTERBACK (3): Joe Flacco, Drew Lock, Kevin Hogan.

The Broncos could save a roster spot here if they believe Lock makes enough progress to work as the team's primary backup quarterback. But as things stand now, with Flacco, 34, set to be the unquestioned starter and Lock having flashed plenty of potential to go with plenty of work to do with his accuracy in the offseason workouts, keeping three looks the most likely at least until Lock shows his work against the vanilla defenses in the preseason games.

RUNNING BACK (3): Phillip Lindsay, Royce Freeman, Devontae Booker.

It will be tough for an unexpected pick to crack this lineup. Lindsay and Freeman will likely get the bulk of the work in the run game with Booker’s use coming in some third-down and other spot-duty situations. Bottom line is Booker is a versatile player, including being the best in pass protection at the position, in a contract year, so he won’t cede his spot without somebody putting in the kind of hey-look-at-me camp Lindsay put in last summer.

FULLBACK (1): Andy Janovich.

The fullback should get some additional work in Rich Scangarello’s offense. Janovich offers skills as both a runner and a receiver in spot duty while he has been the squad's special-teams captain as well.

TIGHT END (4): Jake Butt, Noah Fant, Jeff Heuerman, Troy Fumagalli.

This might be one of the most difficult roster decisions the Broncos have to make, especially if they keep to the 2018 model, when they opened the regular season just three at the position. They have four of their own draft picks at the position and three of those players -- Heuerman, Butt and Fumagalli -- have spent at least one season on injured reserve. If they keep three, they are jettisoning a player they still believe in.

WIDE RECEIVER (6): Emmanuel Sanders, Courtland Sutton, DaeSean Hamilton, Tim Patrick, River Cracraft, Juwann Winfree.

The Broncos kept six receivers last season and are still unsettled in their decisions in the return game, so Cracraft could carve out a spot with some hearty special-teams efforts in the preseason. Also, if the Broncos want to ease Sanders into things -- he had surgery to repair his Achilles in December -- they would look to keep at least six here, at least initially.

OFFENSIVE LINE (8): Garett Bolles, Ja’Wuan James, Ron Leary, Dalton Risner, Connor McGovern, Elijah Wilkinson, Sam Jones, Don Barclay.

The Broncos kept nine players at this spot last season, but they would need to get the extra tight end spot from somewhere and Wilkinson’s and Barclay’s versatility -- both have played tackle and guard -- help in that regard. Also, McGovern and Jones have each worked plenty at both center and guard as the Broncos would likely keep just seven offensive lineup in uniform on game days. It would force them to keep an additional lineman on the practice squad to have on hand.

DEFENSIVE LINE (6): Adam Gotsis, Shelby Harris, Derek Wolfe, Dre’Mont Jones, Zach Kerr, DeMarcus Walker.

It's hard to imagine a scenario -- at least before the preseason games get played -- where Gotsis, Wolfe, Harris, Jones and Kerr aren’t the top five here. Billy Winn is a veteran who has flashed some quality work with the Broncos in the past, but Walker is a former second-round pick in a 2017 draft class that has yielded just one starter to this point -- Bolles -- and it may be too difficult admission to send Walker on his way in Year 3, especially if he can keep the slight momentum he showed in the offseason work.

LINEBACKER (9): Von Miller, Bradley Chubb, Todd Davis, Josey Jewell, Joe Jones, Keishawn Bierria, Justin Hollins, Jeff Holland, Dekoda Watson.

The Broncos kept 10 players at this position when they entered the regular season in 2018 and it should, perhaps, be noted the Chicago Bears also kept 10 linebackers coming out of the preseason last year when new Broncos head coach Vic Fangio was the team’s defensive coordinator. But Hollins has some potential to play both inside and outside while the Broncos will also have just one inside linebacker on the field in their nickel formation, which they will likely use the majority of the time.

SECONDARY (10): Chris Harris Jr., Bryce Callahan, Kareem Jackson, Justin Simmons, Will Parks, Isaac Yiadom, De’Vante Bausby, Jamal Carter, Dymonte Thomas, Shamarko Thomas.

There is at least some room for a surprise candidate to emerge here as Fangio installs his defense, but as the Broncos exited their offseason work, a five-cornerback, five-safety split looked the most likely and versatile scenario, including special-teams work. Bausby, who is one of the fastest players on the team, is a wild card who needs to show some more consistency to grab a spot.

SPECIALIST (3): Brandon McManus, Colby Wadman, Casey Kreiter.

The Broncos will have two kickers in camp as things get going -- McManus and rookie Taylor Bertolet -- but this group is solidified and the Broncos have far bigger things to concern themselves with this time around.