The Denver Broncos wanted to be a run-first offense in 2019, but the team ranked 20th in the league in rushing, averaging just under 104 yards per game on the ground as a team.
The Broncos used a two-headed running back system with Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman but the backfield was hampered when fullback Andy Janovich went down with a season-ending injury.
Trailing often in games and just not being able to run the ball they wanted to in a system ran by recently-fired offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello helped contribute to Denver being in the bottom half of the league’s rushing teams.
Here, we will grade each running back on the team based on their 2019 performance.
Phillip Lindsay
Stats: 224 carries, 1,011 yards, 4.5 yards per carry, 7 touchdowns, 35 receptions, 196 yards
Lindsay ran the ball effectively but the coaching staff didn’t seem to trust him as much as it possibly should have.
Though Lindsay became the first undrafted running back in NFL history to go over 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons, he only went over 100 yards rushing in two games and was only given more than 15 carries in eight games.
Still, Lindsay’s grade can’t come down because he wasn’t on the field. The coaching staff seemed insistent on a full split in the backfield and that is evident when you look at the snap counts.
Lindsay was on the field for 513 offensive snaps while 506 went to Freeman.
Lindsay was a little bit better as a rookie but had a solid follow-up season and while he may never be viewed as the kind of guy who can be a lead back due to his small stature, he’s one of the most important pieces on offense.
Grade: B+
Royce Freeman
Stats: 132 carries, 496 yards, 3.8 yards per carry, 3 touchdowns, 43 receptions, 256 yards, 1 touchdown
Freeman offered the team more as a receiving back than did Lindsay, but he’s just not as effective as a runner. He’s not as elusive and he’s not as good at finding a lane to run through.
Rather than the offensive snaps being divided up 50-50, it should be more like 65-35 in favor of Lindsay.
However, as a complementary runner, Freeman can lend something to the team and he did a fine job in that role this season.
Grade: B-
Devontae Booker
Stats: 2 carries, 9 yards, 6 receptions, 57 yards
Booker seems to have become an afterthought on this team and if not for a preseason injury to Theo Riddick, he likely would not have even made the roster.
Booker had fewer rushing attempts than all three quarterbacks who played for the Broncos this season and one of the team’s wide receivers. Denver did put Booker back on kickoffs.
That said, his days with the team are likely numbered.
Grade: D
Andy Janovich
Stats: 1 carry, 1 yard, 5 receptions, 42 yards
With Scangarello coming over from Kyle Shanahan’s system with the San Francisco 49ers, it seemed that the fullback would take on a much more important role in the Denver offense.
A nasty elbow injury in Week 11 cut Janovich’s season short. He did sign a three-year contract extension earlier in the year and will be part of the team’s future going forward.
His offensive stats are never going to jump off the page but as a blocker and as an offensive chess piece, he plays an important role.
As for his 2019 grade, he gave the team what he needed to in the games he played in.
Grade: B
Overall grade
The Broncos weren’t a terrible running team in 2019, but 20th in the league isn’t going to cut it. Particularly when you look at how some of the better teams this year (Baltimore, San Francisco, Tennessee) dominated with the running game.
At the same time, the running game has plenty of promise with two young backs. Going into 2020, it will be interesting to see how the Broncos choose to address the position.
Don’t be surprised if the team looks at running back in one of the first three rounds of the draft.
Overall grade: B-
