Originally Posted by
Zouf
First part of response is correct (freehub friction), but in the rest you confuse freehub bearings with wheel bearings. The freewheel bearings are usually not readily adjustable, and the "play... when off the bike... with the chain disengaged the wheel should slowly and gently rock to a stop" refers to wheel hub bearings, not freehub, so does not impact the OP's issue.
Guess I dashed that one off too fast, confused the issue. True, the hub bearings have no impact on the dragging freehub - could only be freehub bearings or something like a spoke protector or badly bent spoke.