Things that have changed since the Broncos last played a home game, a Jan. 8 loss to Kansas City:

New ownership. The group led by Rob Walton purchased the team this week for $4.65 billion.

New coach. An expansive search resulted in Nathaniel Hackett being hired to replace Vic Fangio.

New coordinators. In are Justin Outten (offense), Ejiro Evero (defense) and Dwayne Stukes (special teams). Hackett will call the offensive plays.

And new quarterback. Russell Wilson. That is all.

But when the Broncos open the exhibition season against the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday, the focus won’t be on Wilson, running back Javonte Williams, receivers Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy and the entire first-team defense.

The starters got their work in during Thursday’s joint practice, which means the back-of-the-roster candidates will see the state of their depth.

Here are five players to watch, some of whom are fighting for a spot and others fighting for a role:

Josh Johnson/Brett Rypien

Hackett said the No. 2 quarterback spot is a “great competition right now.” Johnson has generally received the second-team snaps and during Thursday’s practice against Dallas, he took 26 team reps compared to 12 for Rypien.

“For us, it’s going to be about consistency,” Hackett said of evaluating Johnson and Rypien. “Getting those completions, making the right decisions, keeping the chains moving and taking the shots when you have (the chance). I think they have both shown they can do that.”

The Broncos signed Johnson in free agency even with Rypien in the fold. Simply being functional will allow Johnson to enter the regular season as the primary backup.

Montrell Washington

The way the Broncos rotate receivers throughout their practice script has allowed Washington to catch passes from all three quarterbacks. He seems to have a good feel for coverages in the middle of the field and can snatch the football when it’s thrown above his head.

But Washington’s ticket to the initial 53-man roster is in the return game. He must catch the punts. All of them. He must make good decisions on kickoffs. All of them.

The Broncos drafted Washington to ignite a stagnant return game.

“But he has to win the job,” Stukes said. “We have to see what he does on Saturday when it’s live. We haven’t had a live tackling period (in camp) so we want to see if he can take contact. We want to see his balance, we want to see him burst, explode and make plays.”

Nik Bonitto

The Broncos’ top draft choice (second round), Bonitto has been getting mostly second-team snaps at outside linebacker opposite Baron Browning. If Bradley Chubb and Malik Reed don’t play, Bonitto should get major playing time to assess his progress.

“We’re asking him to do some different things than he did in college and we’ve challenged him,” Evero said during the first week of camp.

Bonitto said he is playing the run differently compared to Oklahoma, where he was able to shoot the gaps instead of taking on and shedding blockers.

Where Bonitto looks ready to make an impact is as a pass rusher. He has the rare ability to bend around and under the offensive tackle and caused plenty of issues for the Cowboys on Thursday.

Damarri Mathis

The Broncos’ cornerback spot has already seen nickel player K’Waun Williams miss a week (knee) and Ronald Darby (chest) out the last three practices. If Pat Surtain II starts, his outing will be brief.

Mathis, a rookie fourth-round pick, will get a major chance to play and he could have an opening after Michael Ojemudia struggled on Thursday while working with the first-team defense in place of Darby.

Mathis is expected to make the 53-man roster, but a good preseason could make him active on game-day ahead of Ojemudia.

“(Mathis is) doing a really good job and he’s getting better every day,” Evero said. “The big thing for him is just working on his technique. He’s been doing that and has improved vastly. He just has to stay on that trend.”

Aragon hired. The Broncos named Denver native Tim Aragon their new general counsel Friday, replacing Rich Slivka, who announced his retirement after 22 years.

Aragon will report to CEO Greg Penner and spent the last 18 years with the law firm Hogan Lovells, most recently serving as managing partner. He graduated from Mullen High School, Harvard and New York University Law.