Why Broncos' Juwan Thompson Shouldn't Be Overlooked in Gary Kubiak's Offense

Denver Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak has decided to institute days off for quarterback Peyton Manning in training camp. Kubiak and his staff are also busy at work trying to determine the best combination to comprise the team's starting offensive line.

All of this is being done with Manning's best interests in mind, but there is one other component that will aid in Manning's play over the course of the 2015 season—a consistent running game.

The Broncos were at their best last season when the offense was driven by the running game. This season, the team needs to put even more focus on it.

C.J. Anderson was very good in relief of an injured Montee Ball and as a result, will almost certainly be the starting running back this season.

Back in June, Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com reported that Ball is confident that he'll be able to see plenty of snaps in this offense. There are other running backs on the team to spread the wealth around as well.

Allie Raymond of the team's official website reports that Kapri Bibbs feels that the zone-blocking scheme was "made for him." He could be right. In his only year at Colorado State, Bibbs worked in a zone-blocking scheme and amassed 1,741 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns. Both numbers stand as records at the school.

Then there's Ronnie Hillman, the former third-round pick who could come in and be a solid third-down back in Kubiak's system.

That sounds like a great quartet, but we'd be remiss if we left out Juwan Thompson from the conversation.

Many teams did just that in the 2014 draft, electing to pass on the versatile running back out of Duke. Eventually, Thompson signed with Denver as an undrafted free agent. What a decision that was for the Broncos.

Thompson played sparingly as a rookie last season, gaining 272 yards on the ground and catching four passes for 25 yards. While those aren't numbers that jump off the page, it's the level of play Thompson brings to the field that does.

He is a player who will always give 100 percent. When his number is called, Thompson can be relied upon to do whatever is asked of him. That was evident in college when Thompson played both offense as a running back and defense at linebacker. In addition to that, he was also captain of the special teams.

While others may tout guys like Anderson, Ball and Bibbs as great fits for the new rushing attack being installed, Thompson is arguably better suited than any of them to excel in it.

He possesses a good combination of size, speed and running ability to get up field and bowl over defenders if necessary. Thompson always keeps his legs churning and gets every inch he can. That was evidenced by the fact that he averaged 5.0 yards per carry as a rookie.

Andrew Mason of the team's official website noted in Day 4 of his training camp notes that Thompson's energy and running style was helping him stand out. On Day 5 of camp, Mason reported that Thompson was able to push for extra yardage on more than one carry.

This is exactly the type of player Kubiak wants on his team. With a year of experience under his belt, Thompson should be even better this year once preseason games kick off, and he made a strong impression last preseason.

This play against the San Francisco 49ers comes to mind.

Thompson doesn't prance around in the backfield. Once he gets the ball, he runs straight forward as hard as any back on the team. In addition, he can catch passes out of the backfield and stay in on passing downs to serve as extra protection for Manning.

What more do you want?

"

Juwan Thompson continues to remind me of Howard Griffith. Griff didn't get a lot of runs, but he blocked and caught exceptionally.

— Emmett Smith (@alloverfatman) August 1, 2015"

Adding to his versatile repertoire, Thompson can also line up as a lead blocker on running plays. The Broncos have James Casey and Joe Don Duncan, so Thompson won't be relegated to playing only that position. The fact that he can only makes him more of an asset. 

If you attend training camp this summer, fix your eyes on No. 40. The effort he displays and the energy he brings to the team make him an integral part of the Broncos going forward.

Ball, Hillman and Bibbs could get more headlines prior to the start of the season. But outside of Anderson, Thompson is the most irreplaceable running back on the roster.