Player
Royce Freeman
RB
Draft capital and career longevity didn't translate to efficiency — Freeman is the rare case of a mid-round pick who stuck as a pure volume depth piece across 6 seasons and 5 teams.
Most carries among non-Chubb 2018 draft class RBs (Rds 2-4): 471 attempts, but lowest YPC at 3.80.
Milestone2018 draft class RBs (Rounds 2-4) career totals
| Player | Rd | Pick | Carries | Rush Yds | YPC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Chubb | 2 | 35 | 1,507 | 7,556 | 5.01 |
| Ronald Jones | 2 | 38 | 541 | 2,383 | 4.40 |
| Chase Edmonds | 4 | 134 | 469 | 2,031 | 4.33 |
| Royce Freeman | 3 | 71 | 471 | 1,792 | 3.80 |
| Nyheim Hines | 4 | 104 | 317 | 1,299 | 4.10 |
Why it matters. Draft capital and career longevity didn't translate to efficiency — Freeman is the rare case of a mid-round pick who stuck as a pure volume depth piece across 6 seasons and 5 teams.
Rookie 521 yards looked promising. The role evaporated. 6 years later, only 1,792 career yards.
TrendFreeman career by season
| Year | Tm | Att | Yds | YPC | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | DEN | 130 | 521 | 4.01 | 5 |
| 2019 | DEN | 132 | 496 | 3.76 | 3 |
| 2020 | DEN | 35 | 170 | 4.86 | 0 |
| 2021 | CAR/HOU | 56 | 169 | 3.02 | 0 |
| 2022 | HOU | 41 | 117 | 2.85 | 0 |
| 2023 | LAR | 77 | 319 | 4.14 | 2 |
Rushing yards by year
| Season | Yards |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 521 |
| 2019 | 496 |
| 2020 | 170 |
| 2021 | 169 |
| 2022 | 117 |
| 2023 | 319 |
Why it matters. Freeman's career arc is a classic third-round-pick cautionary tale: two seasons as a legitimate backup before the depth chart collapsed around him, then 4 years as a journeyman depth piece bouncing between 4 teams.
Career-high single game came in Year 6 — 13 carries, 77 yards, 1 TD for the 2023 Rams.
SplitFreeman career-best single games
| Season | Week | Team | Carries | Rush Yds | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 12 | LAR | 13 | 77 | 1 |
| 2023 | 11 | LAR | 17 | 73 | 0 |
| 2018 | 1 | DEN | 15 | 71 | 0 |
| 2018 | 4 | DEN | 8 | 67 | 1 |
| 2023 | 7 | LAR | 12 | 66 | 0 |
Why it matters. A depth RB hitting his per-carry peak in year 6 with a 5th team is unusual — it suggests Freeman's late-career role with the Rams fit his skill set better than his higher-profile Denver years ever did.
Phillip Lindsay outrushed Freeman by 516 yards in 2018 — both rookies, same DEN backfield. Lindsay was undrafted.
Anomaly2018 DEN rookie RBs
| Player | Status | Att | Yds | YPC | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phillip Lindsay | UDFA | 192 | 1,037 | 5.40 | 9 |
| Royce Freeman | 3rd round #71 | 130 | 521 | 4.01 | 5 |
Why it matters. The Lindsay-over-Freeman dynamic made Freeman's career trajectory immediately visible: a mid-round pick who couldn't hold his starting job against a UDFA, setting the pattern for the next 5 seasons of backing up or riding the bench.
In 2019 Freeman led all DEN RBs in receptions (43) despite only 37% of the team's backfield carries.
Comparison2019 DEN backfield split
| Player | Carries | Rush Yds | Rec | Rec Yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phillip Lindsay | 224 | 1,011 | 35 | 196 |
| Royce Freeman | 132 | 496 | 43 | 256 |
Why it matters. Freeman's value in 2019 was as a receiving specialist in a committee backfield — a defined role that maximized his pass-catching skills (78.9% career catch rate) even while he was outrushed 2-to-1 by Lindsay.
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