It took C.J. Anderson five seasons to eclipse the 1,000-yard rushing mark.

Royce Freeman could get it on his first try.

Making his projections for the top rookie running backs, ESPN fantasy football expert Mike Clay foresees Freeman finishing 2018 with 232 carries for 981 yards (third-most behind first-rounders Saquon Barkley and Rashaad Penny) and six touchdowns. He's slated to gain an additional 246 yards and a TD on 31 receptions, good for 193 total fantasy points, per Clay.

The yardage is nothing to sneeze at considering the war chest of passing weapons on Denver's offense, as well as the backfield presence of Devontae Booker and De'Angelo Henderson -- both of whom will compete with Freeman for the defacto starting job.

“Absolutely," head coach Vance Joseph said after Freeman was drafted. "It’s going to be open obviously with [RB Devontae Booker] and [RB] De’Angelo [Henderson]. You’ve got to have two or three backs anyways, so it’s always going to be open competition. It takes two or three guys to have a solid backfield.”

Then again, usage has never been an issue for Freeman, the Oregon Ducks' all-time leading rusher who accumulated a whopping 947 carries for 5,621 yards and 60 scores across 51 career games in Eugene. Production worked in his favor, making him a third-round pick, but it also caused some scouts to question how much tread remains on the Rolls-Royce's tires.

Freeman addressed such concerns in his post-draft conference call.

“I feel like I just contributed to my productivity," he said. "I feel like all of that durability and all of those carries just reflected my productivity throughout my four years at Oregon. It is not often you get backs playing as many games or taking as many carries. I feel like the fact that I was able to do so proves I am a durable running back.”

At 6-foot, 229 pounds, Freeman is the "big banger that we haven’t had for a while," according to Elway. He's not the fastest or most athletic RB, but boasts excellent vision, power and balance -- essentially a rich man's version of Anderson, with a little more wiggle on outside runs. His "violent" style of play should make him the favorite for early-down and goal line work, putting Clay's goals within reach.

“You want to be on the field making an impact for your team as a much as you can," he said. "The violent tenacity out there, my recent running backs coach [former Oregon Ducks running back coach/current Florida State running backs coach Donte’] Pimpleton always emphasized that we needed to go inflict pain on the defender especially as a bigger back. They are going to try to come at you, come at you low and come at you different in different directions and all kinds of ways. I feel like if I take it to them and put that on film, the team prior to playing us watches the film is going to think twice once in the game.”