Royce Freeman fantasy football updates for Week 13

What is Royce Freeman’s fantasy football status, DFS price for Week 13?

There were more than a few indications of Denver willing to back up their words and give Phillip Lindsay the bulk of the backfield’s work entering Week 11, and indeed it happened. Lindsay played 52 snaps to Freeman’s 24. Now, this past Sunday, the snap counts regressed to the mean (Freeman played 28 and Lindsay 27) although the usage was skewed toward Lindsay once more. Royce Freeman rushed the ball just two times this past weekend against Buffalo for 20 yards, and he caught two passes for an extra nine yards through the air. He failed to score in any of his touches and finished with a mediocre 4.9 DKFP. While the Broncos didn’t accomplish anything with their tailbacks, Lindsay still out-performed Freeman with 57 yards on 13 rushes and an extra 11 receiving yards on his single catch of the day.

It’s been two weeks in a row now that Freeman has been almost totally excluded from Denver’s attack. He has become a clear no. 2 option backing up a bell cow in Lindsay. That looks like the plan the Broncos want to keep deploying going forward. Expecting good fantasy outings on four-touch nights isn’t going to cut it, though. Even scoring touchdowns at a ridiculous efficiency, we’d be talking about no more than some 10-DKFP upside for Freeman, which is just too low on DFS. Freeman’s price has dropped for obvious reasons entering Week 13 and sits at $4,200, 42nd-highest among RBs. His ROI isn’t bad given his current 9.54 DKFP per game average, but that takes into account his higher usage from Week 1 to this point. There is no reason to play Freeman anymore unless Lindsay gets injured, so feel free to fade him even more than the Broncos coaches are right now.

What is Royce Freeman’s fantasy football status, DFS price for Week 12?

After resting for a couple of weeks thanks to Denver’s bye in Week 10, Freeman and the Broncos were back at it visiting Minnesota this past weekend. And it couldn’t have been worst for the now-clear no. 2 rusher in the Broncos attack. For the second consecutive game, Freeman wasn’t able to reach 10 touches. His rushing attempts have gone from an average of 11 in the first eight weeks to just 6.5 in the past two games, and he has been targeted just once in those two matches. With such low-volume of plays going his way he has become a touchdown-or-boost fantasy option, and he hasn’t been able to score in that span. Lindsay is out-snapping and most importantly out-performing Freeman, so if this usage pattern and performance levels continue then Freeman might turn into a completely useless fantasy asset sooner rather than later.

The Broncos play the Bills in Week 12. That sounds like a favorable matchup for Denver’s rusher with Buffalo ranking 21st in allowed fantasy points per game to the position so far this season. The problem with Freeman, as always, is the workload he gets and the timeshare with Lindsay. Freeman’s salary this week is set at $4,500, only the 29th-highest of the slate. That alone should make him a good value play. But Lindsay is valued at just $700 higher than him and producing 14.2 DKFP per game to Freeman’s 10 DKFP. The Bills have surrendered more than 130 yards from scrimmage or a touchdown in their four last games. That translates to 30 DKFP per game to backfields, which is a rather high mark. If things keep working as they have since Joe Flacco fell to injury, though, Freeman won’t play more than 30% of the snaps so his upside will be limited and he’s better off your lineups. Stay away from him until he gets some playing time back—if he ever does.

What is Royce Freeman’s fantasy football status, DFS price for Week 11?

Denver is back from its two-week rest due to the team bye week this past weekend. Now the Broncos go on the road to face the Minnesota Vikings in Week 11. With two weeks between their last game and this one, Freeman’s salary has remain almost intact (dropped $100 from his last one) and now sits at $4,800, which is the 26th-highest among running backs. Although it might sound stupid, as it doesn’t often work that way, Freeman is also the 26th-best rusher in this week’s main slate in terms of DKFP per game (10.5). The Vikings matchup definitely screams “fade” this weekend. Minnesota ranks fifth-best in points per game allowed to RBs (18.3), will play the game at home, and in two of its last two games has limited opposing backfields to 85 or fewer rushing yards, no touchdowns, and under 16 DKFP. That is a stout unit, and Denver has a couple of rushers sharing the workload and therefore their fantasy upside is cut almost in half. There are a lot of better options available at the same salary as Freeman if not even cheaper this week.

What is Royce Freeman’s fantasy football status, DFS price for Week 10?

With the Broncos on a bye Freeman will stay out of DraftKings’ pool of eligible players for any contest this weekend. Updating on his season performances, Freeman put on his worst game of the year against Cleveland in Week 9. Although things seemed to look good for Freeman’s upside against the Browns, he was limited to just five carries (15 yards) and saw only one target (for a negative-1 yard) in comparison to Phillip Lindsay’s nine attempts for 92 yards and a touchdown. Although the snaps were virtually the same (Freeman played 26 to Lindsay’s 23), the chances given to both rushers were split roughly at a 65/35 favoring Lindsay. There is some talk going around about a potential re-injury of Lindsay’s wrist that has limited him in the receiving game, but either it becomes big news and is confirmed—and turns into him losing playing time—or it seems like Freeman’s role might keep a little bit overshadowed by that of Lindsay going forward.

What is Royce Freeman’s fantasy football status, DFS price for Week 9?

I didn’t think we’d watch Freeman constantly take touches from Phillip Lindsay, but that has been the case for a few weeks now. Don’t get it wrong, though, as the latter keeps being the leading back in Denver’s backfield. This past week against Indianapolis in quite a tight game it was Freeman who got away with the only Broncos touchdown. Freeman rushed the ball 12 times for 40 yards and the score while Lindsay logged 14 carries for 59 yards. As is often the case, Lindsay finished the game with bulkier numbers. For the first time in the last three games Lindsay out-performed Freeman on the passing side of the game catching five passes for 17 yards while Freeman was limited to just one reception for five yards. In Weeks 6 to 8 Freeman has scored a very consistent 12.6, 16.7, and 11.5 DKFP while Lindsay has been a little riskier/volatile play with tallies of 15.5, 4.2, and 12.6 DKFP.

The Broncos head into Week 9 with their sights on Cleveland, which should turn into a not-so-hard matchup as that against Indianapolis this past weekend. Cleveland ranks 22nd in DKFP per game allowed to RBs so far, are 2-5, and while they limited the Chargers backs to just 34 rushing yards they also conceded 154 and 120 in Weeks 5 and 7 to the Raiders and Saints backfields respectively. Freeman’s salary has dropped a bit this week down to $4,900 from his $5,500. That is a steep discount given how Freeman has been able to keep up his production this weekend. He’s got the 18th-highest salary while averaging the 16th-most DKFP per game. Looking at the rest of RB salaries for the upcoming weekend’s slate, Freeman pencils in as one of the best values if you’re looking to save on the position. No rusher is producing more DKFP per game at his price, and his salary/DKFP relation is one of the best among cheap running backs (along with those of Chris Thompson and Miles Sanders). All of that and a favorable matchup on paper makes Freeman good play in Week 9.

What is Royce Freeman’s fantasy football status, DFS price for Week 8?

Last weekend’s game against Kansas City could have resulted in any possible outcome you could think of for Denver’s running backs. They could have found themselves in a clock-milking situation, or straight omitted in a catch-up game. The latter was the case and rushing attempts were fairly limited for both Freeman and Phillip Lindsay. Both rushers finished with virtually the same results: Lindsay had 11 carries for 36 yards, Freeman outperformed him on 10 carries for 35 yards and a touchdown. In the passing game, though, it was all Freeman. He hauled in four passes for 32 yards while Lindsay could only catch one pass and lost four yards on that play. For the first time this season, Freeman clearly stomped over his backfield partner finishing with 16.7 DKFP to Lindsay’s 4.2.

Heading into Week 8 things look good again for Freeman. Denver will face a great Colts defense (seventh-best in points allowed to running backs) and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if the Broncos trail early in the game—they open as six-point underdogs. If the game script is the same as against the Chiefs, then Denver might be forced to favor the passing game again and we saw how Freeman did in those duties this past weekend. Looking at DraftKings’ salaries for Week 8, though, I have a lot of doubts in how they valued Freeman and Lindsay. While Lindsay remains at $5,600 this week, Freeman has been bumped all the way up to $5,500. That is a really small difference in price for the actual talent different between both players, with Lindsay being a way better play than Freeman on average. In fact, there are many players available at cheaper salaries averaging similar DKFP (James White, Matt Breida, Jordan Howard) or providing more value for their price (Tevin Coleman, Frank Gore). Look for better options than Freeman this week.

What is Royce Freeman’s fantasy football status, DFS price for Week 7?

The above-average Titans defense posed no challenge to Denver all day long and the Broncos went away with an easy win last Sunday. Being ahead all game and not allowing Tennessee a single score, the game script favored both Freeman and Phillip Lindsay. The former rushed 11 times for 34 yards while Lindsay was committee-leader as he finished the day with 70 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. In a change to the recent pattern, it was Freeman who out-targeted Lindsay 5-to-3, caught more passes (5-to-2) and racked up more receiving yards (42-to-5).

All In all, though, the only reason Freeman played more snaps than Lindsay this past weekend was the game development and script. With Denver not needing the passing game much and wanting to run the clock off, they could give Freeman more room. Even with that, though, it was again clear who the leading back is in the team. Lindsay started to separate slowly from Freeman during the past couple of weeks and he made another statement in Week 6. This shows in DraftKings’ salaries for Week 7. Freeman sits at $4,700 while Lindsay is at $5,700 — way more expensive. This week’s matchup isn’t the best for Denver’s backfield as they face Kansas City and if all goes as expected then the Broncos will need to put a lot of points on the board. That should come through the passing game, so Freeman’s role will probably be reduced again as he’s more of a rusher than a receiver. He’s a cheap flex (he’s averaging 10.7 DKFP) with upside if Lindsay gets hurt or Denver—in a totally unexpected development—takes a considerable lead, but this looks like a week to pass on Freeman.

What is Royce Freeman’s fantasy football status, DFS price for Week 6?

Facing an average team against the run in the Chargers both Phillip Lindsay and Freeman were able to put up tasty numbers on very similar workloads. Lindsay finished the day with 114 yards on 15 carries with a touchdown, while Freeman was limited to 61 yards on 13 carries. Comparisons to Lindsay on the passing don’t make Freeman any favor neither, as the former racked up 33 yards on four catches while Freeman was stuck at just six yards on two receptions. While obviously the lesser tailback, Freeman had been able to hold his own in this committee but could be starting to lose more than a bit of ground to Lindsay. A few more performances like this one and the gap between them—not just in production, but in usage, too—could become impossible to narrow back.

Freeman’s salary has dropped once again in DraftKings for his Week 6 game against Tennessee, sitting now at $4,500. Picking between Lindsay and Freeman is already an easy decision that favors the former. He holds much more value and is the best of the two Broncos. That in itself should be enough reason to fade Freeman altogether, but if you’re looking for a cheap back with a considerable amount of opportunities he might not be that bad to play. Keep in mind, though, that his ceiling will always be limited with Lindsay getting a fair amount of touches himself every game. The Chargers are allowing 24.1 DKFP per game to RBs on average, and Freeman is the cheapest running back of the main slate averaging 10-plus DKFP per game. If you are expending big at other positions or want a low-salary flex filler then Freeman should be a solid option to consider.

What is Royce Freeman’s fantasy football status, DFS price for Week 5?

The tables have turned in Denver. It wasn’t the best game to rush the ball for the Broncos against a great Jaguars defense and Freeman struggled to a season-low 16 yards. The bulk of Freeman’s production in Week 4, though, came from the passing game. For the first time this season Freeman out-targeted Lindsay six-to-one and racked up 34 yards on four receptions. All those yards and catches were enough to score more fantasy points than Lindsay, whose single catch only gave him seven yards on the night. Last week’s game also marked the highest difference in snaps played in favor of Freeman, featuring in 34 offensive plays compared to Lindsay’s 25.

After three weeks of salary raises, DraftKings opted to lower Freeman’s value by $200 for Week 5, making him $300 cheaper than his partner Phillip Lindsay. Although Lindsay has a slightly higher ceiling than Freeman, they’ve been able to produce virtually the same for his fantasy owners. As things are today, Freeman remains a bad play in DFS as he’s part of a 50/50 committee and his potential is not as big as that of his counterpart. Denver faces another top 10 defense this week in the Chargers. Only Marlon Mack has been able to run for more than 45 yards against the Chargers this season, and that was all the way back in Week 1. Since Week 2, Los Angeles is giving up just 17 fantasy points per game to RBs and have conceded just 176 combined yards rushing. There aren’t many worse matchups for Freeman than this one, so you can fade him without worrying about it.

What is Royce Freeman’s fantasy football status, DFS price for Week 4?

Even with Freeman losing a few snaps to injury during the game against Green Bay in Week 3, the battle for the supremacy of Denver’s backfield continues to heat up. Lindsay finished the day with 41 snaps, and Freeman with 36. In those plays, Freeman logged an impressive 19 touches in which he was able to rack up 73 yards. Lindsay had a monster day, though, finishing with 25 touches good for 130 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. This game clearly went Lindsay’s way, and although Royce Freeman was able to put on a good outing even in a limited role due to his shoulder problems, it was clear who was (and probably still is) the Broncos leading back.

Both Freeman and Lindsay remain very close in the DraftKings’ salary table. Freeman enters Week 4 at a price of $4,800 while Lindsay does so at $5,200. To be fair, given the difference in production this past week and their track records, the different sounds about right. Jacksonville will be a tough matchup for both running backs, though. The Jaguars are allowing the sixth-fewest DKFP per game (18.9) to RBs, and as is always the case with running back committees, you have to account for a split timeshare limiting the upside of both rushers. They aren’t bad plays at their price if things go well for them (a la Lindsay in Week 3), but if you don’t want to risk betting on the wrong side of the committee just avoid Denver’s backfield for now.

What is Royce Freeman’s fantasy football status, DFS price for Week 3?

And the day finally arrived. Royce Freeman was on the field for 43 snaps to Phillip Lindsay’s 39 in Week 2. They are tied at 73 in the season, with a perfect 50/50 split. Now, that doesn’t mean they’re not different players able to produce in different ways. Lindsay has two games with the exact same 10.6 DKFP. Freeman got 7.1 DKFP in Week 1 and improved to 15.2 DKFP in Week 2 (season average of 11.1 DKFP). The last game saw Freeman improve his overall game, as he was able to run for 54 yards on 11 attempts but also added 48 yards on five receptions (and seven targets). Both yardage marks were higher than Lindsay’s, and neither could score a touchdown.

The honchos at DraftKings look like have realized there is a true threat to Lindsay’s upside in Freeman, as his price has gone up to $4,400 for the Week 3 game against Green Bay. For this weekend, Freeman is $100 more expensive than Lindsay, but as you have seen their production is so close that there is almost no reason to pick one over the other (nor their prices makes one a better or worse value). While that salary would make for a good and cheap play, the timeshare is real and a concern, limiting the Broncos’ tailbacks upside. Plus, Green Bay’s defense limited Chicago to 37 yards on 11 attempts through the ground in Week 1 and was above-average against the position in 2018.

What is Royce Freeman’s fantasy football status, DFS price for Week 2?

I saw it, then I believed it. Freeman really ate—and no little amount—from Lindsay’s touches. Royce Freeman finished the game with 42% of both running backs touches, logged 56 yards in 10 rushing attempts (13 more yards than Lindsay), and only was relied on less in the passing game ending with one reception for five yards in his lone target. At the end of the day, 61 yards in 11 touches should give hope to Freeman going forward. If Lindsay shows any healthy issues (he finished last season injured) pencil Freeman in as a true bell cow in Denver’s attack.

It looks like DraftKings’ algorithms didn’t like what the Broncos backfield was up to last week against Oakland. Both Lindsay’s and Freeman’s salaries dropped. For Week 2, Freeman is available for $3,700, which is $900 cheaper than Lindsay. At that price and after what happened in Week 1, Freeman would offer some value to owners as a cheap option. The problem: Denver faces a Bears defense that won’t allow much production to either Broncos RB.

What is Royce Freeman’s fantasy football status, DFS price for Week 1?

Although they are not the best possible matchup for Freeman and the Broncos backfield, Oakland’s defense was below-average last year against the run, allowing the 12th-most fantasy points to running backs, although they only conceded 54 receptions (league-best) to them, which could help Freeman featuring in a heavier role as he’s a better runner than catcher.

At $4,200 on DraftKings, Freeman is not worth that much in a team that has a leading backtail on roster and healthy. Lindsay is still the go-to option on the rushing side of the game and until we see a change in the script there is not much upside in putting Freeman in your lineups.

Royce Freeman 2019 fantasy football preview

After a good rookie season in 2018 in which he averaged 7.4 DKFP, it is hard to believe he was outperformed by another rookie, Phillip Lindsay, who went undrafted. Truth be told, Lindsay was the better all-around player, was always trusted over Freeman (more rush attempts, more targets), and his production and efficiency numbers were higher all season long.

As we enter the 2019 season there are again questions surrounding the Broncos backfield. Lindsay is not the healthiest of players and Freeman can get a heavier load this year. With Joe Flacco now leading the team there is a chance that the offense uses a run-heavy scheme going forward, and most probably during the first few weeks of the season until the new QB settles.

There is a new coaching staff in Denver, so the share we already saw in 2018 could change and favor Freeman this season. It is improbable, though, so at least for know we should take any of these rumors about Freeman’s potentially getting a bigger role with a grain of salt.

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is chapulana) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.