Denver Broncos fans, meet your new favorite running back.
Royce Freeman, whom the Broncos drafted No. 71 overall last weekend, is a beastly back, entering the NFL at 6’0″ and 229 pounds. He’s not all beef, being able to run a 4.54 40-yard dash, but Freeman is the kind of back who is incredibly difficult to bring down.
According to Pro Football Focus, Freeman broke 53 tackles last year, which was fourth-most among draft-eligible running backs.
The Denver Broncos selected Royce Freeman with the 71st overall pick – bringing in the man who forced the fourth-most missed tackles in the draft class pic.twitter.com/0RTiq5ACX4
— PFF College (@PFF_College) April 28, 2018
And, here’s more. Freeman’s 247 forced missed tackles are the most in college football since 2014. Also, Pro Football Focus also explains he was tackled at first contact only 61.3 percent of the time, which was third-lowest in college last year, and his overall grade was 86.3, ranking him seventh among running backs in 2017.
While Freeman’s breaking those tackles, he’s busy racking up a massive amounts of rushing yards. Three of his four years at Oregon, Freeman ran for 1,000-plus yards, with his sophomore campaign’s total of 1,836 being a career-high. Those three years, he also carried the football over the goal line 16-plus times each season.
On top of that, Freeman’s a talented receiver, too, putting up 800-plus yards and four scores through the air in college. And, with that huge frame, he’s got to be deft at pass-blocking when called upon to do so.
Overall, the Broncos got a well-rounded, supremely talented running back in the third round in Royce Freeman. Could Freeman be the featured back in the Mile High City this year? There’s a chance, though, there will be stiff competition to be the starting back.
Freeman will have a shot, but Denver also drafted David Williams and picked up Phillip Lindsay as a UDFA. And don’t forget about Devontae Booker and De’Angelo Henderson, who are holdovers from last year.
