Royce Freeman made a great statement Saturday to be the starting running back for the Denver Broncos as we near the regular season.
The Denver Broncos drafted Royce Freeman in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft to compete instantly against Devontae Booker. Freeman came to the Broncos with plenty of tread on the tires, but he appears to already display the vision to leap frog the depth chart. All it takes is one play in preseason to catch the eye of coaches and Freeman seems to done more with the ball in his hands.
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Booker only had two carries for seven yards and never got his feet under him to show his agility. He is capable of being a three down back. It just seems that it never materialized. Due to Freeman’s quick production in college at Oregon, there’s a chance he sees holes develop better than Booker as a rookie.
One play in particular is the strong touchdown run from Freeman. Paxton Lynch made the right decision on the read option to hand the ball off to Freeman. Elijah Wilkinson cleared a bus lane path for Freeman. It was then up to Freeman to reach the second level. Freeman’s underrated nature hit that level and achieve another. On that touchdown run, Freeman saw the right side was sealed for him but broke outside running in for the score.
While the Denver Broncos might consider a running back by committee, it is still up to Freeman or any back to make noise. Freeman’s touchdown run might be enough to catapult him to number one. Even in his shorter runs, there was same assertiveness to hit holes.
Every touch from @rolls_royce21's #NFLPreseason debut with the @Broncos! https://t.co/wdyBrJKHif
— NFL (@NFL) August 13, 2018
The biggest trait that helps a running back become well rounded is pass protection. Quarterback Case Keenum said he thought Freeman did well picking up some blitz packages. The veteran quarterback is not afraid to throw out compliments. Certainly a good sign for Freeman to become a starter.
We will see if Freeman can build off a solid debut in preseason game two against Chicago.