Stokley: No worries about ‘wear and tear’ on Broncos rookie Freeman
May 7, 2018, 2:05 PM
During his four seasons at Oregon, Denver Broncos rookie running back Royce Freeman had a high level of production — coming in 25th all-time in career rushing attempts (947) and seventh in career rushing yards (5,621).
But despite that production, worries about how much tread the young running back has left on the tires has been voiced.
During John Elway’s NFL Draft Day 2 press conference, the Broncos general manager was asked what the high number of carries Freeman had in college showed.
“What it shows to us is he’s durable. He played a lot so therefore he can take that,” Elway said. “At the end of his career who knows how much that will shorten it, but it wasn’t a concern when we took him that there was too much tread.”
But with, as Elway put it, “tremendous production” at Oregon, Freeman has been compared by some to another former Broncos back who was highly productive in college: Montee Ball.
Ball, a second-round pick by the Broncos in 2013, played just two seasons in the NFL (three starts) before battles with alcoholism and off-field issues forced him out of professional football.
Like Freeman, Ball too was highly-utilized during his college career at Wisconsin, carrying the ball 924 times (34th all-time) for 5,140 yards (17th all-time.)
However, “Stokley and Zach” co-host Brandon Stokley said on Monday that it’s unfair to compare Ball and Freeman in the sense that the latter is destined for a short professional career.
“When you look at Montee Ball, why he didn’t work out, it wasn’t because of all these carries. It was because of all of his other issues off the field,” Stokley said. “He’s come out and said it. He stopped working, didn’t work as hard. He had some other issues off the field.
“I look at him and why he didn’t work out, it wasn’t because of the wear and tear that he had in college. Not that at all. It was all the other things that stopped Montee Ball from being a success with the Denver Broncos.”
In five or six years down the line, Stokley said Freeman’s high production in college could affect his professional career, but for now, it’s not a concern.
“I don’t think you have to worry about the wear and tear building up on him where he won’t be an effective back at all,” Stokley said.
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.
