Denver Broncos: Grading rookie performances after week one

3 of 6

DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 9: Running back Royce Freeman #28 of the Denver Broncos carries the ball and tries to avoid a tackle attempt by cornerback Shaquill Griffin #26 and defensive end Rasheem Green #94 of the Seattle Seahawks at Broncos Stadium at Mile High on September 9, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

Royce Freeman, RB

The Broncos picked Royce Freeman with the 71st overall pick in the NFL Draft, and as fate would have it, he racked up 71 yards on 15 carries in his NFL debut.

Though Freeman wasn’t ripping off big chunk plays every third carry or anything, he averaged 4.7 yards per carry and did his best work late in the game as the Broncos’ closer.

With the game on the line, Freeman took four fourth-quarter carries for 37 of his 71 yards (9.3 average) and helped bleed the clock down so the Broncos could apply pressure to the Seahawks defensively.

Interestingly, 10 of Freeman’s 15 carries were on first down plays, where he averaged 4.3 yards per carry. I wrote earlier in the offseason about how good Freeman was at Oregon on first downs, and how bad the Broncos have been running the ball on first down in recent years.

These are important details that can be easily missed, but Denver has a plan in place and in this case, they executed it to perfection.

Obviously, we’d like to see Freeman be even more effective with his touches, but he did his job and helped his team get the win.

Final week one grade: A

Home/Broncos News