Oakland Raiders: Five potential Draft Day running back targets

Royce Freeman (University of Oregon)

Built a lot like Lynch, the five-foot-eleven, 234 pound Freeman has decent 4.5 speed, and with 17 reps in the bench press, has solid power. A year spent learning under Lynch could help the former Oregon Duck flourish in the NFL.

In four years at Oregon, Freeman was a very effective back. For his Ducks career, Freeman racked up 5,621 yards (1,836 as a sophomore), averaged 5.9 yards per carry, and had 60 touchdowns, with no one season fewer than nine. He also added 814 receiving yards and another four scores.

Freeman, sometimes compared to Houston’s D’Onta Foreman, has been a good, instinctual runner with the ability to shrug off would-be tacklers, though scouts say he lacks that “breakaway” gear to pull away from pursuit. They also knock him for having less than average elusiveness, letting himself get taken down in the open field.

However, he’s a hard inside runner, has a body big enough to dole out punishment, and has solid footwork that will help keep him out of trouble and doesn’t often get brought down by the first tackler on the scene.

He’s not a burner who’s going to beat guys to the edge all that often, but he will power and grind his way down the field, wearing down defenses, and opening up the passing lanes – something that’s a staple of a Gruden-led offense.

Freeman could step in for Lynch, barely miss a beat, and provide the ground game with some solid punch. He’s being projected by some, to go as early as the second round, though many put him somewhere in the third. So, if the Raiders are interested, they may have to snag him relatively early.