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Lonestar
08-02-2010, 03:00 PM
Q&A: Broncos' Royal slotted for some playing time in the slot
By Jeff Legwold
The Denver Post
POSTED: 08/02/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT


Eddie Royal (Denver Post file photo)
Broncos training camp is underway, so welcome back. I will try to answer a question each day until the end of the season. Thank you for taking the time to participate.

Today's question comes from Dave Blaylock of Denver.

Q: It seems to me the best place to use wide receiver Eddie Royal would be in the slot and let him explode like the Patriots' Wes Welker did a few years ago. How do you think the Broncos will use Royal and the rest of their wide receivers this season?

A: Dave, you touched on what figures to be one of the hotly contested positions of training camp.

After using two draft picks this year on wide receivers, the Broncos have a crowd at the position without a definitive No. 1 wideout at this point.

Sunday was the first day of full-squad training camp, and when the Broncos lined up in their No. 1 offense, Royal and Jabar Gaffney were the starting wide receivers.

Brandon Stokley and Brandon Lloyd have been part of the next tier, but Stokley missed some time during the offseason because of a shoulder injury and participated little in the organized team activities. The Broncos drafted Kenny McKinley last year, and he also plays on special teams, which Stokley and Lloyd do not very often these days.

Add rookies Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker to go with Matthew Willis — coach Josh McDaniels has pointed out Willis' performance several times during the offseason, and the UCLA product will play special teams — and you see the crowd.

The Broncos kept six wide receivers when they finished the preseason last year.

They will use Royal in the slot this year, but that is Stokley's best position. So how much playing time Royal or any other wideout gets there likely depends on whether Stokley makes the 53-man roster.

When he was coaching the Broncos, Mike Shanahan called Stokley the best slot receiver in the NFL. Here's some proof of his talent: Stokley, 34, had four touchdown catches last season, ranking second among the Broncos, despite sporadic playing time and having just 19 receptions overall.
Royal will play in the slot because he has the quickness to do it, but he likely won't be a full-time slot receiver.

McDaniels has said he will move Royal around in the formation to get better matchups. The Broncos would like Royal to finish with more receptions than the 37 he had last year.

Royal and Gaffney likely will get playing time at all three of the main wideout positions — the two outside and the slot. Thomas, after playing in a triple-option, run-oriented offense at Georgia Tech, likely is looking at situational work until he can increase the number of pass routes he is comfortable running.

Decker also could play inside if he had to because of his size.

But McDaniels isn't looking for specialists at the position. He wants as many wideouts as possible to be able to play all of the receiver positions. That would create individual matchups in the Broncos' favor at more than one place on the field.

It also can keep an offense from being hamstrung by an injury that shuts down the use of some of the playbook.

Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com

http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_15655361

Bosco
08-02-2010, 03:46 PM
Surprisingly echos alot of what I'd been telling people this offseason.