Denver Broncos: It sounds like Royce Freeman is in team’s plans

Denver Broncos RB Royce Freeman is in the team’s 2020 plans.

New Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur met with the media and was asked about whether or not he urged the team to sign running back Melvin Gordon, among a number of other questions about the running back position.

Shurmur basically says that he did not ‘pound the table’ for Gordon, and that he is happy with all of the current running backs on the roster, including 2018 third-round pick Royce Freeman.

"“I think that’s a false narrative. Listen, I’m all for adding good players at every position. I feel like Phillip Lindsay’s an outstanding player that we can hand the ball or throw the ball to. The fact that we have two running backs now that can be very explosive with the ball in their hands whether you throw it or run it, I think is a good thing. I really do think you need more than one running back. Royce Freeman obviously did a great job last year as well. We’re going to try to utilize both and all three of them and try to utilize their skills. The whole pounding the table narrative—listen, I’m the new guy here, but I will say this, I’m looking forward to adding outstanding players to all the position groups.”"

If you notice, he does mention Royce Freeman by name. With teams unable to see their players in training camp right now, they have to rely on film from previous years.

Freeman was on the field for 506 snaps in 2019, which adds up to 50 percent of the offensive snaps in total. He carried the ball 132 times for 496 yards, three touchdowns, and gained 22 first downs. He also caught 43 passes.

The carry distribution will be interesting in the Broncos backfield in 2020, with Gordon leading the way, and Lindsay expected to play a huge role as well. It would be ideal to see Freeman step up when called on.

The Broncos brought in LeVante Bellamy as an undrafted free agent this offseason and there has been talk about him being the latest undrafted free agent to make the roster of the Broncos—something the team has been very good at for a number of years.

But I feel as if Shurmur likes what he has seen from Freeman since the former Oregon runner was drafted by the team in 2018.

If teams are unable to do on-field work for the entirety of the offseason (which kind of seems unlikely, though), the talk of Freeman being moved to a new NFL city may have to end. The team very well may go into the 2020 season with Gordon, Lindsay, and Freeman as the running backs on the roster.