No. 1: Royce Freeman Rushes for 100-Plus Yards

Head coach Vance Joseph has officially named Royce Freeman the starting running back. There was a battle at the position all training camp and preseason. Freeman came out on top, causing Devontae Booker to fall on the depth chart. Freeman will need to replace the production of C.J Anderson from the past few years.

Freeman is a big, bruising back who can bring a certain physicality to the Broncos offense. In college, Freeman rushed for 5,621 yards on 947 carries (5.9 yards per carry) and 60 touchdowns. He did all of this at the University of Oregon where he was a focal point of their offense.

Now being the starter of the Broncos, he will be asked to produce immediately.

The Seahawks defensive line is decimated and is unproven. Like I said, they lost Bennett and Avril this offseason. This leaves them trying to fill huge holes in that defense. This is a weakness the Broncos can take advantage of by pounding the ball, running right at the Seahawks defensive line.

If the Broncos want to come out as winners in this contest, they need to be a balanced team. They’ll need to ease the pressure off of Keenum. Running the ball with someone like Freeman can allow that to happen.

I believe Freeman can begin his rookie year with a 100-plus yard game and could be this year’s version of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Kareem Hunt.