ADAMS: Broncos in good hands with young WRs
By Sam Adams, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published August 18, 2008 at 1:13 p.m.
It's been a long time -- try the days of Mark Jackson and Vance Johnson in the early 1990s -- since the Broncos opened a regular season with two of their own draft choices starting at wide receiver.
Barring a change of decision from the NFL commissioner's office, that won't be the case in 2008 either.
We expect Brandon Marshall to miss the first two games. When he does return from suspension, Marshall likely will be paired with rookie Eddie Royal as the Broncos' starting wide receivers.
Marshall, one of Denver's three fourth-round picks in 2006, is a star on the rise after catching 102 passes in 2007 — the first 100-catch season ever by a Broncos' draft choice.
Royal, the Broncos' second-round pick this year from Virginia Tech, is turning heads of coaches, teammates — and most noticeable, opposing cornerbacks — with his speed and skills as a pass-catcher.
In recent seasons the Broncos have caught flak for compiling an unimpressive draft list of receivers.
Any of these Broncos picks at receiver ring a bell? Travis McGriff, Adrian Madise, Herb Haygood, Triandos Luke, Darius Watts, Muneer Moore, Chris Cole, Kevin Kasper and Chad Plummer.
No, I didn't forget first-rounders Ashley Lelie (2002) and Marcus Nash (1998).
Lelie has been the most productive NFL player of the bunch (168 catches in four seasons with Denver), but he's on shaky ground with the San Francisco 49ers.
Nash suffered a broken neck during an Arena Football League playoff game this year. Watts played for the 2008 AFL champion Philadelphia Soul. Haygood is an assistant coach at Saginaw Valley State.
McGriff has been a spokesperson for the proposed All-American Football League.
The Broncos have been searching for a solid 1-2 punch at wide receiver since Ed McCaffrey and Rod Smith teamed up to produce 893 catches (83 for touchdowns) from 1997 through 2002.
Time will tell if the homegrown pairing of Marshall and Royal can be as productive.
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August 18, 2008
2:48 p.m.
Suggest removal
CourtneyBrown98 writes:
research something else!! n tell us something we dont know
August 18, 2008
5:36 p.m.
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myerda00 writes:
Hey Sam, tells us who you think will make the 53 man roster at WR!! Do not tell us what we know. You are a sports writer and should have this info. Lets take a look;
Marshall, Royal, Stokley, Colbert and Martinez.
Does Jackson injuries take him out? Plus they really like Russell.
C'mon Sam, give us something we do not know !!!
August 18, 2008
8:44 p.m.
Suggest removal
crushon77 writes:
royal's stellar performance is no surprise to me. the scouting reports on him were that he was a great receiver; great hands, great route runner, great in traffic and down the sideline. why he was under the radar, i don't know, though his stats were underwhelming. anyway, the descriptions of his skills were off the charts. his youtube highlights are amazing, though mostly as a return man. the thing that impressed me the most about those highlights were his instincts to find lanes to run through and how to pick up blocks in the process. eddie royal will be a star.
i'm more surprised that colbert has not been more of a presence. i liked him when he came out of college, and shanahan was giving some favorable rod smith comparisons when the broncos signed him. what's up with that?
marshall, royal and stokley are locks. everyone else's jobs are yet to be determined.
chalk up another good draft for the broncos, even if judged on just the two top picks alone. undrafted fa woodyard looks like a gamer. i like the potential of hillis and barrett. haven't seen torain play, but his td comparisons are promising (though rod smith comparisons haven't come to fruition for colbert yet, so i'm tempering my enthusiasm). youtube also showed torain to be that guy that can run tough (i mean really tough) between the tackles. time will tell.
all ready!
August 18, 2008
9:28 p.m.
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Dynamicdave writes:
crushon77, Torain definetely could be the real deal. My only concern is his bad luck at staying healthy. He was hurt in college and then in the NFL, right away. When he comes back, if he can stay healthy, he will be a force in the NFL. But that elbow injury can hamper him. They say 3 months. But, other then riding a stationary bike, he will not be in football shape. The arm will be strapped to his body so there is no motion. Not a lot of exercise for him to do except cardio and some leg work.