Collegiate Times

NFL Draft experts pinned Eddie Royal as a player who was too small to be a wide receiver in the professional ranks.

They thought that the 5'10", 182-pound Virginia Tech graduate was more suited to be a punt returner because of his quickness.

"I didn't want to be labeled as just a return guy," the second round selection said. "I knew I was more than that."

Through just five games, Royal is making the experts and opposing secondaries look foolish.

He already has accumulated 321 receiving yards, averaged 10.7 yards a reception and hauled in 30 catches -- none bigger than the two he made in his second NFL start.

It was the Broncos' home opener in the altitude-friendly confines of Invesco Field at Mile High, which turned into a high-scoring affair with the San Diego Chargers.  

Down 38-31, the Broncos reached the one-yard line with under a minute remaining in the fourth quarter.

Their fortunes seemed to fade as quarterback Jay Cutler coughed up the ball to an opposing Chargers defender, but referee Ed Hochuli erroneously and, moments later, admittedly blew the play dead.

It was a disastrous call for the Chargers and a blessing for the Broncos -- especially for Royal.

Two plays after the controversial sequence, Cutler found Royal in the middle of the end zone for a four-yard touchdown with just 29 seconds left. That made the score 38-37 in favor of San Diego.  

Head coach Mike Shanahan immediately held up two fingers. Despite needing just a simple extra point to tie the game and more than likely send it to overtime, Denver instead attempted a two-point conversion that would ultimately determine the outcome.  

The decision surprised most, but not Royal and his team.

"I wasn't shocked that we went for two," he said. "That was our mindset. We wanted to go for two. We talked about that even before we got the ball. I was prepared for that."

Royal ran the same route, and the play ended with the same result.

Cutler's pass split three San Diego defenders, landing in Royal's hands to give Denver a 39-38 lead.

"It was a play that we had practiced a lot," Royal said. "We had been going over that play and that situation, and it just so happened to work."

They would hold that lead for the remaining time and advance to 2-0 on the young season.

Although Royal's dramatic catch against the Bolts may be his most memorable moment of 2008, it certainly wasn't the best performance of his already stellar rookie campaign.

That came in his regular season debut on Monday Night Football on the road against the AFC West rival Oakland Raiders. The Broncos' top wide receiver, Brandon Marshall, was suspended for violating the league's code of conduct -- expanding Royal's role even greater.

But the magnitude of the moment didn't faze him.

"I don't really get nervous before a game,"

Royal said. "It's more of an anxious feeling.  I'm ready to get out there and play."

And as his performance indicated, he stepped in and stepped up nicely as Cutler's main target in Denver's 41-14 rout of the Raiders.

Royal was utilized early, touching the ball three times -- twice on running plays -- in the first four plays from scrimmage. To cap off the opening drive, he produced the first score of the Broncos' season and the first of his career. Cutler rolled out on third down and threw to Royal in the right side of the end zone for a 26-yard touchdown.  

"The coaches did a good job getting the ball into my hands and letting me make plays," he said. "It was a good game plan that we had for Oakland; I just wanted to come out and be successful in my first game."

Royal caught three more passes on a Broncos scoring drive in the second quarter, one that ended in a touchdown run by running back Michael Pittman. He also drew a pair of unnecessary roughness penalties from fifth-year cornerback and fellow Hokie-alum DeAngelo Hall, who was defending Royal for a majority of the evening.  

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