Denver Broncos Receiving Core Fantasy Preview

Ever since Brandon Marshall left in a trade to the Miami Dolphins, fantasy owners have been faced with the impossible question; who will make a major impact at the receiver position in Denver?

Well, firstly, you have to discount all of those “Eddie Royal is going to be Wes Welker” rumors, because that’s the same type of talk we heard last season. And despite putting up very solid rookie numbers in 2008, Royal was a huge fantasy disappointment in 2009, posting just 37 receptions for under 400 yards and zero touchdowns.

However, this could be a bounce-back year for Royal, as his main competition for looks in the offense (Marshall) is gone to another team, and outside of rookies Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker, he easily is the most talented receiver on the team. And with both rookies struggling to return from offseason foot injuries, he appears to have the leg-up on the competition.

However, the current depth chart for Denver lists Jabar Gaffney as the number one receiver, Royal as the two, and veteran Brandon Stokley as the slot receiver.

There has been speculation that Stokley could hold onto that job, as well as speculation that Stokley could be on the roster bubble, and that Royal could be primed to take over slot duties. If so, Royal would indeed once again be thwarting off “Wes Welker” rumors.

But this is Josh McDaniels we’re talking about. He’s a former New England Patriots coordinator, and judging by the way he’s conducted his camps and last season in secrecy, we don’t expect that to change anytime soon.

This means that, despite their injuries and being rookies, there is still a decent chance that Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker both play significant roles in 2010. There is also still a chance that Stokley gets cut, that Jabar Gaffney keeps the starting job, and Eddie Royal turns into Wes Welker. And there’s also a chance Tim Tebow starts for Denver in 2010.

In other words, there is no such thing as certainty in Denver until we see the final depth charts slated for Week One. But if we had to guess, we’d pick Demaryius Thomas as our favorite sleeper to enter the season, providing he can get healthy.