Britton Colquitt and Riley Dixon launched footballs at each other like a full-field board game of Battleship this week at Dove Valley, trying to peg down a roster spot. One roster spot.

The most heated position competition at Broncos training camp is not the quarterbacks. It’s the punters.

“It’s cutthroat,” Colquitt said.

Coming off a Super Bowl-winning season, the Broncos are easy to scout. They basically are the same team that rolled over the Carolina Panthers in February, minus quarterback Peyton Manning, defensive tackle Malik Jackson and linebacker Danny Trevathan. They are what we think they are — the NFL’s most aggressive defensive team opposite a simplified, quarterback-friendly offense.

So the Broncos are trying to sharpen their edges, looking at other ways to improve. That led them to draft a punter, seriously, in the seventh round. Nixon was a first-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference punter. He can kick the seams off a ball with a booming leg.

Colquitt, though, saved the Broncos and their sputtering offense through the playoffs last season, kicking four punts inside the 20 yard line against the Patriots in the AFC championship game and helping hold the Panthers to only two total yards on three returns.

“They’re obviously two different guys,” Kubiak said. “One is the veteran who had a tremendous season last year, especially late in the year. The other one is a young, very talented kid with a big leg. It’s going to be very competitive. We knew that.”

If Mark Sanchez eventually is named Denver’s starting quarterback, Trevor Siemian probably will remain on the roster. Nobody will lose a job. But the punters are fighting for a paycheck. Colquitt is on the final year of a three-year, $11.7 million contract that will pay him $3.25 million this season (with a $4 million cap-hit). Dixon is on a four-year rookie deal that costs the Broncos only $450,000 this season.

Seeing the savings involved with Dixon, Colquitt went to Broncos general manager John Elway after the draft to seek some clarity. The veteran didn’t ask why Denver drafted Dixon. He just asked if he stood a chance. Elway told him, bluntly, he wants the best punter. Period.

“I respect that,” said Colquitt, who in his seven seasons with the Broncos holds the franchise record for gross (47.4) and net (40.2) punting yard averages. “I told him that’s my plan, to be the best punter. And I believe him when he said it will be a fair competition. Riley is a really good, young punter. If he’s not here, he’ll be somewhere in the league. He’s the best competition I’ve had, for sure, since I’ve been in the NFL.”

The Broncos did this last year too. They signed free-agent Karl Schmitz to compete with Colquitt. But Colquitt won out. Last season, he ranked 29th in the NFL for gross (43.6) and 20th in net average (39.7).

On Thursday, both Colquitt and Dixon pinned punts at the 1-yard line in target practice. And both of them cleared the decks with boomers from the back of the end zone in distance situations. Their rivalry is thriving.

“Draft or not, nothing is ever a given,” Dixon said. “I’m not really focusing on the competition. Just trying to be the best punter I can be and I’ll leave the rest up to people who make the decisions.”