Royce Freeman

[Lssd2012]

In redraft leagues, I'm seeing that Freeman is going as high as in the top 25 picks and is consistently getting drafted within the first 4 rounds, which seems awfully high for me. Some compare him to Kareem's situation last year but Hunt showed far more in the 2017 preseason and even the coaches had appointed him the starting role without question once Ware tore his ACL.

I have the 1.02 in an upcoming rookie/FA draft and while I was set on drafting Royce, I am leaning more and more towards Penny now due to what I perceive is the superior talent. Freeman has had some nice 20+ yarders in the preseason but he has generally looked fairly slow, non-agile and without creativity (no spin moves, impressive jukes, great displays of vision etc). He seems to get what's given to him and always fall forward but an RB1 needs to show a bit more.

What are you guys seeing and think of his draft position?

[FantasyFreak]

He might lead that backfield in touches starting week 1. He gets the goal line work, but he won't catch many passes. Week 1 he let a pass clunk right off his hands on a well thrown ball on 3rd down. I think Lindsay may get the passing down work. I like both backs a lot. Long term, I like Penny because he has a better receiving skill set IMO, but Freeman may be worth more in 6 weeks if you are looking for a quick value bump. I like both these RB's profiles. I think they will both be successful backs, but I like Penny with RW and his PPR skill set for the long haul.

[dynastyninja]

In redraft it'd be fine to draft him higher. Dynasty I don't see it being worth it. He's a fine running back who will contribute, but I don't see staying power.

[Cameron Giles]

Devontae Booker isn't very good and there's really no other competition. Situation is probably contributing a lot, though to be fair Freeman has definitely had a lot of times in college where he's looked good on tape. I think the hype is coming from the fact that Elway said they view him as a bellcow.

[slaughterrt]

For a reference, I just took him at 1.04 in a rookie draft. I like Freeman, and stole him in the early 2nd in a 12 team superflex a few months ago. I think Freeman has a pretty easy path to the starting role in DEN. Maybe he isn’t the “long term” answer at RB, but honestly who is “long term” anymore?

[Ice]

Overall this is a solid class of RB's. I like Penny at 1.2 in Dynasty but could see him going in the top 4-6 range in Dynasty.

I am in the middle of a redraft right now and he went 5.7 pick 55 in this 12 team PPr league which was a good spot for him. I took Engram TE at pick 54. I don't have quite that high in a redraft but don't think it was much of a reach.

Top 25 in a redraft ppr is foolish or really ballzy depending on perspective. I am on the foolish side of that equation.

[ninotoreS]

Is Royce Freeman getting too much hype? He's a guy with over a thousand college touches already eroding his tires, and won't be doing much on passing-downs with both Booker and now Lindsay factoring there. So in dynasty, yes, he's getting a bit too much hype right now. I see him going 1.2 and 1.3, which is just too high in this class for a 2-down back that might start to break down before his rookie contract is up.

I totally think he's in play for over 200 carries this year, though. So don't me wrong, the immediate fantasy usability is there, which is something several of the other top RBs in this class lack at the moment. This makes Royce's hype a bit more reasonable in redraft. But in dynasty, I really think at 1.2/1.3 people should be shooting for an every-down profile with less mileage.

[mclilj]

I think Freeman is still obviously the back to own in Denver, but I expect more out Booker than just about every other NFL fan it seems. If you're playing PPR, yes IMO freeman is over-hyped.

[Mefisto]

I'd say he's getting the hype that he deserves right now, especially in standard scoring leagues. With all the injuries and poor showings of the other rookies RB's, Royce is the only one that has flashed outside of Saquon and maybe Chubb. When it comes to RB's, opportunity is really one of the biggest factors, and Royce has one of the best opportunities. When it comes to rookie RB's, I think the case could be made for a lot of them for picks 1.2-1.5, and, again, out of all the RB's not named Saquon, Royce is healthiest and has looked the part. I wouldn't draft him top 35 in a startup or in the first 4 rounds in a redraft but after that he's as good a pick as any. As to his college stats concern, he wasn't exactly catchless and, as Gurley has shown, catching can be added to his repertoire. Regarding his work load, Matt Forte had a very similar concern coming out of college, that he had too many miles on his tires. However, he was able to put up several seasons of quality stats.

If people are looking at him as a RB1 then yes, i think they are overvaluing him. However, if you are looking for several years of RB2, with some RB1 years, then I don't think he's being overvalued.

[Jason3123]

Definitely overhyped a bit, as all the rookie RB's were. People chasing last year's rookie RB's.

[jcc6fd]

Just look at his positive responses here and you’ll see why he’s being over hyped. Situation, situation, situation. Yes his situation is better than other rookie RBs, but a month ago he wasn’t a consideration for a top 10 pick, meaning both the community and the NFL recognized several position players as more talented. If people are actually comparing him to Hunt they’ll be disappointed. Hunt is the exception, not the rule. He’s fine to own but if you’re taking him above Penny, Michel, Chubb or Guice you’re doing it wrong.

[BigBawseRoss]

yes. i like him a lot but people all of a sudden became smitten and i think thats funny

[dynastyninja]

yes. i like him a lot but people all of a sudden became smitten and i think thats funny

Agreed, good running back, but not that good

[nathanq42]

I was skeptical about taking him at 1.07... I'm pleased by how he is playing, but with how Moore and cutting have been playing I'm not sure about it.. I think for team need it's good, but I wouldn't take Freeman over anyone other than Guice if you think he is done like how ACL tears used to be career enders

[skip]

He's a guy with over a thousand college touches already eroding his tires

Historically this is actually a positive, not a negative. Generally players who have had high college volumes have demonstrated the ability to handle large workloads and are more durable.