ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Devontae Booker never thought he would have more continuity in college, where he was a junior college transfer, than the NFL.
Yet, since he was the Broncos’ fourth-round draft pick in 2016, Booker is on his fourth offensive coordinator in four seasons and third starting quarterback in three years. He did not expect this much turnover with his direct bosses in the pros.
"I didn’t at all," said Booker, one of the Broncos’ three top running backs. "Shoot, I guess right when you get drafted and go through years that I’ve already been through, there are changes in this business. You said it. I’ve been through a different quarterback every year, a different offensive coordinator. It’s my second running backs coach being here, but it’s hard to find a rhythm when you have so much change and so many offenses that you have to learn.
"I guess the big thing for me is staying in my playbook and just knowing what to do so when the time comes, I can just go out there and ball out."
Not that all transition is bad. Booker seems to be happy Joe Flacco has replaced Case Keenum as the Broncos’ No. 1 quarterback.
"He’s such a cool guy," Booker said of Flacco, but not Keenum. "He talks to everybody in the locker room. Previous quarterback didn’t really do that so much. They’d just be in there on the field, get the job done and we see each other walking through the halls or something — wouldn’t even acknowledge us.
"Flacco, I’d say, is a pretty cool guy. He’s just brings that leadership ability to all of us out there on the field. He’s won a Super Bowl. He’s just a good guy."
In fairness to Keenum, he always complimented and never knocked a teammate to the press. On the field he was as competitive as they come and his will was a big reason for the Broncos’ inexplicable midseason three-game winning streak.
But Booker wasn’t the only one Keenum ignored when he passed by. It probably didn’t help that Keenum’s locker room was over with most of the defensive players, while Booker was on the far side where most of the offensive players dressed.
Anyway, at least Booker has only had two running backs coaches during his time in Denver and he seems to have particularly flourished in the third-down, passing game role under the guidance of Curtis Modkins.
"Once you know that you’ve got your same position guy coming back, you feel a little relief," Booker said. "We’re not getting a new running backs coach. We don’t have to build a (new) relationship with him. With him being back, it’s a huge plus for all of us."
With starting tailback Phillip Lindsay still recovering from wrist surgery, Booker, who came to Denver by way of the University of Utah and his hometown American River junior college, has received plenty of reps this spring with the first-team offense, especially on passing downs.
But while Booker is an accomplished receiver out of the backfield and has been the Broncos’ pass protecting back, he hasn’t given up on trying to become the team’s featured running back -- a role the second-year Lindsay and Royce Freeman has split.
"Absolutely. That’s just how my approach is to it. I’m pretty sure every guy in our room wants to be the feature guy," Booker said. "They want to go out there and work at it each day to be that guy. I’m not just going to sit here and say that I don’t want to be that because I know that I can offer a little more.
"As of right now and how my role is, the pass protection and being a pass catcher out of the backfield, that’s just where they need me right now."
Booker stats
Year ... Carries ... Yds ... Avg ... TD .... Catches ... Yds ... Avg ... TD
2016 ........ 174 ..... 612 .... 3.5 ...... 4 .............. 31 ... 265 ..... 8.5 ...... 1
2017 .......... 79...... 299 ..... 3.8 ......1 ............... 30 ... 275 .... 9.2 ...... 0
2018 .......... 34 ......183 ..... 5.4 ..... 1 ............... 38.... 275 .... 7.2 ...... 0
Totals ...... 287 ... 1094 ..... 3.8 ..... 6 ............... 99 ... 815 .... 8.2 ...... 1
