Royce Freeman shines in Broncos debut

Good morning, Broncos Country!

Watch out for Royce Freeman.

The first carry I saw from him at Denver Broncos training camp was enough to get me excited. Over the last two weeks, he’s been a consistent standout at practice and arguably deserving of the top spot on the depth chart.

Could the rookie from the University of Oregon carry that over to the first preseason game? Freeman answered that with emphatic fashion on Saturday night against the Minnesota Vikings. The vision and burst he showed on his 23-yard touchdown run was damn impressive.

That run shows he can become a difference marker in this offense. He possesses a similar running style to a running back Broncos fans know very well — Terrell Davis. Freeman is a one-cut runner who has great vision and trusts himself. The time we saw Devontae Booker on the field he looked like the same running back who doesn’t have good vision, dances around and lacks trust in himself. He only had two carries, and that was enough.

There’s always a tendency to overreact to what we see in the preseason — good and bad. This was the first preseason game for the Broncos. But what’s been clear in camp and practice was true at the game Saturday night. Freeman is the best running back on the roster and should be the starter.

He is going to be fun to watch. A lot of fun.

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