Denver came into the offseason looking for new blood at tailback after most of last year's tailbacks ended up on injured reserve. Correll Buckhalter, J.J. Arrington and LaMont Jordan were signed in free agency.

The signings indicated that no one tailback would be counted on heavily in 2009. Buckhalter has never rushed for more than 600 yards in a season, Arrington has never rushed for more than 400 yards and Jordan's lone season over 600 yards was when he rushed for 1,025 in 2005.

All three could see time, similar to New England's tailback rotation when new Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels was the Patriots' offensive coordinator.

Over the last two seasons, New England had only two backs break 700 yards in a season - Laurence Maroney had 835 yards in 2007 and Sammy Morris had 727 yards last year.

The three signees could all fit a role in the offense. Buckhalter and Jordan are bigger backs that can run between the tackles. Jordan has an advantage of being in McDaniels' system last year with New England. Buckhalter has averaged 4.5 yards per carry in his injury-plagued career, and is also a capable receiver out of the backfield.

Arrington's role could be similar to Kevin Faulk's in New England. He never established himself as an every-down back with the Cardinals despite being drafted in the second round. However, last season he played better in a third-down role. He averaged six yards on 31 carries and caught 29 passes.

The Broncos will also have some holdovers at tailback that could factor into the running game, including Ryan Torain, Selvin Young and Peyton Hillis. All three of them ended last season on injured reserve.