Royce Deion Freeman (born February 24, 1996) is an American professional football running back.
He played college football for the Oregon Ducks, earning third-team All-American honors in 2015.
[2][1] During his senior season, Freeman set three CIF San Diego Section career records.
[4] In the final week of the regular season, Freeman broke the career-points-scored record of 697 points set by Dillon Baxter of Mission Bay High School.
He immediately impressed coaches in practice and camp, and competed for the starting role with Byron Marshall and Thomas Tyner.
Freeman, the heaviest of the three, established himself as a "power back," an element missing in the Oregon offense since the 2008 season.
[23] The following week he rushed for 106 yards in a loss to Oregon State in the annual Civil War game.
2014 Pac-12 Conference Oregon High School On November 20, 2017, Freeman officially accepted his invitation to play in the 2018 Senior Bowl.
Freeman displayed quickness and agility especially for a running back of his size and was able to impress scouts with his overall performance.
[39] On March 15, 2018, Freeman participated at Oregon's pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only performed positional drills.
At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Freeman was projected to be a third round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts.
[45] Entering his first training camp, Freeman was slated to be the Broncos' starting running back, but he faced minor competition from Devontae Booker.
After a very impressive training camp and preseason, head coach Vance Joseph officially named Freeman the starting running back to begin the season.
Freeman made his first career start and NFL regular-season debut in the Broncos' 27–24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in the season opener.
[46] In the following game, Freeman scored his first professional rushing touchdown in the 20–19 victory over the Oakland Raiders.
[48] Against the Cardinals in Week 7, Freeman recorded 13 carries for 37 yards before suffering an ankle injury which kept him sidelined for two games.
[49] After returning from his injury, Freeman lost his starting job to fellow rookie Phillip Lindsay.
[50] Heading into his second training camp, Freeman faced competition for the starting running back job from Phillip Lindsay.
Although Freeman opened preseason as the Broncos' starting running back, he was surpassed by Lindsay on the depth chart.
Freeman made his 2019 regular-season debut in the Broncos' season-opening 16–24 loss to the Raiders, recording 10 carries for 56 rushing yards.
[51] With the addition of veteran running back Melvin Gordon, Freeman was pushed down to the No.
[53] While Phillip Lindsay left in free agency to sign with the Houston Texans, the Broncos also signed Mike Boone in free agency and drafted Javonte Williams in the 2021 NFL draft.