Royce Freeman will return to Oregon for senior season

Oregon Ducks running back Royce Freeman will stay for his senior season instead of declaring for the NFL draft.

This year’s NFL draft class of running backs is expected to be one of the best in some time. However, the class continues to get smaller as running backs like Oregon’s Royce Freeman decide to return to school.

The Oregon Ducks announced on Wednesday that Freeman will be returning to the football program for his senior season. Freeman came into the 2016 season with lofty expectations, but didn’t exactly have the breakout season scouts were hoping to see from him in part due to the team’s struggles on both sides of the ball.

Still, Freeman was able to finish with 945 yards and nine touchdowns on 168 carries, averaging 5.6 yards per rushing attempt. He added another 144 yards and a touchdown in the passing game, but those numbers were all down compared to his sophomore campaign in 2015.

Freeman joins the likes of Georgia Bulldogs running back Nick Chubb as players at the position who have decided to stay for another season. Considering the talent at running back with guys like Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook and Christian McCaffrey in this year’s draft class, Freeman is hoping that he can be one of the top running backs in the 2018 NFL draft.

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Dane Brugler from CBS Sports pointed out that this was probably the right move for Freeman considering the disappointing junior season he had.

Oregon went just 4-8 this season, but the future is bright for the Ducks with Freeman returning and freshman quarterback Justin Herbert showing some promise later in the year. New head coach Willie Taggart will be hoping to make the offense an unstoppable force once again.

He may not be going to the NFL in April, but if he can have a strong senior season, Freeman could be one of the first running backs drafted in 2018.