Analysis: Time has come for Broncos WR Stokley to strut his stuff
By Jeff Legwold
The Denver Post
POSTED: 08/13/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT


Broncos wide receiver Brandon Stokley (Denver Post file photo)
It's been difficult not to notice this week, but Brandon Stokley has picked up some momentum.

Stokley, entering his 12th season in the NFL, made catch after catch this week. With rookies Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas on the sideline with injuries and Jabar Gaffney suffering an injury late in the week, Stokley got plenty of work.

Things are still crowded at wideout for the Broncos, especially if they keep just six, as they did last year.

And while head coach Josh McDaniels has extolled the virtues of Gaffney, Eddie Royal, Brandon Lloyd, Thomas, Decker and, to a certain extent, Matt Willis, Stokley has done his work in camp in relative quiet thus far.

Mike Shanahan has repeatedly called Stokley "the best slot receiver in football," but he was basically the Broncos' third or fourth option in that spot last year with Brandon Marshall, Royal and Gaffney often lining up there instead.

Stokley made the most of his opportunities with four touchdowns among his 19 catches in 2009, including the deflected ball in Cincinnati last September that launched the Broncos' 6-0 start.

Those four touchdowns were second on the team, or more than Gaffney, Royal and Lloyd put together — a total of two, since Royal and Lloyd did not have a receiving touchdown last season.

That's production.

And yet there is a feel around this training camp that Stokley is somehow on the roster bubble.

That's because neither he nor Lloyd really play special teams, so it may come down to which one of those two McDaniels would keep in the receiver-but-no-special-teams role.

That's assuming the Broncos keep both rookies to go with Gaffney and Royal and that Willis, who plays special teams, also maintains his early-camp momentum when he has made all the plays.

But for an offense that still figures to have some issues in the backfield and in the offensive, a player like Stokley, who works the open spaces and knows how to adjust to a quarterback in trouble, can be an important piece of the puzzle.

And granted, the Broncos' offense has gone against only the team's defense to this point, but judging from the 11-on-11 matchups thus far, the Broncos could have some difficulty putting the ball in the end zone if some of the injured guys don't come back in time for September games and beyond. A guy like Stokley knows the way there as well.

Because of the battered nature of the team's wideouts at the moment, the veteran will get plenty of chances to show his stuff in the upcoming preseason games, beginning this Sunday in Cincinnati.

And given the way the reps have been dispersed among the wideouts in camp so far, and Stokley's relative lack of work before a couple recent practices, it might be good for his cause if he left the coaching staff with a few reminders along the way.

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

http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_15761953