Here's How RB Royce Freeman is Letting the Broncos Down
Phillip Lindsay is having a great season for the Denver Broncos, but besides him, the running back position has been lackluster. The position is similar to Denver's wide receiver position — a room with a great top option, but the depth is letting the team down.
Royce Freeman, a 2018 third-round pick, had some hype entering the season, but he hasn’t managed to live up to it. He is averaging an acceptable 4.0 yards per carry, but needless to say, the Broncos needed more from him this season.
For the Broncos offense to really click and work, the team needs more from their depth weapons on offense, especially running back. This offense works best when there is a capable one-two punch from the running back position.
Lindsay is holding up his end of that bargain, averaging 4.7 yards per carry on 164 rushing attempts as the primary back. He's also added 31 catches for 183 yards. That is a great punch, but there just isn’t a combo to go with it.
If Freeman were to step his game up and be used earlier in games/series to wear down defenses, Lindsay could come in and carry to load to wind down the clock and win games. That was the plan when entering the season, but with Freeman not holding up his end of the bargain, things had to change.
Going into next year, the Broncos can’t ignore the running back position. They need more from their depth and they can’t count on Freeman as they did this past year.
This doesn’t mean Denver should give up on him, but they need competition for him instead of making him the unquestioned backup to Lindsay. Check out the video above for the full story on Freeman.
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