Royal looks to put 2009 season behind him

ENGLEWOOD – All the early indications for Eddie Royal are positive.

The third-year Broncos receiver was a frequent target of quarterbacks in Monday’s passing camp practice, moving seamlessly between different receiver positions. He looked confident, even when the strong gusting winds made it impossible for him to come down with some passes.

The Broncos need Royal to translate what he’s doing now to the regular season. Last year he was surprisingly unproductive, with 345 yards, no touchdowns and less than 10 yards per catch. He didn’t have one catch that gained more than 20 yards.

Brandon Marshall is gone, so Royal and the other receivers have to do more.

“We don’t think about pressure,” Royal said. “Our focus on the offense is everybody do their job and we’ll be OK.”

Royal still isn’t expansive on why he struggled last year. He had a good rookie year in 2008 but was mostly invisible in the offense in Josh McDaniels’ first year as Denver’s coach. He had more than 32 yards in a game only twice last season, even though he was the team’s regular starter for 14 games. He missed the final two games with a concussion.

“I don’t know, it’s tough to say,” Royal said about his quiet 2009 season. “It was everybody’s first year in the offense everybody was adjusting.”  

The Broncos still have high hopes for Royal. McDaniels and quarterback Kyle Orton have both expressed regret that Royal wasn’t more involved in the offense last year. This offseason, it’s apparent the team will try to be more creative with him.

Royal will line up more in the slot than he did a year ago, which could suit him better. If Royal can play multiple positions the Broncos could move him around and find favorable matchups, which could mean more opportunities. He has adjusted well to moving around in the offense.

“He was able to go in and out of some things today, which was good for us,” McDaniels said. “We hope he continues to get more comfortable.”

Like many players, Royal should benefit from having a year of experience in McDaniels’ complicated offense.

“I think a lot of the guys are understanding the system and terminology, they have less questions than they had a year ago,” McDaniels said.

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