but I’m not sure it’s enough to keep him in the 53. If we hadn’t picked up Royal, you could justify keeping Glenn as a returns guy/5th WR.

I don’t think we can run with 6WRs unless Marshall gets suspended, so I think Glenn will be the odd one out after Jax, Stokeley, Royal and Colbert. Maybe even then Parker beats him to #6. He’s in a similar boat to Shepherd who has some experience and some talent but hasn’t been able to stick anywhere.

Our depth is making it so tough. Although I appreciate his production at times, my recollection was that he was very uneven – important passes dropped, etc. Memory is often wrong, though. I looked and saw that he led the Broncos with 487 total special-teams return yards in 2007, posting a team-high 157 on 14 punt returns (11.2 avg.) and 330 on 15 kickoff returns (22.0 avg.), while adding a career high 14 receptions for 175 yards (12.5 avg). His punt return touchdown on Monday Night Football against Tennessee (11/19/07) that earned him AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. Yep, memory didn’t serve in this case. Production should count for something.

Nice article

It’s interesting how the focus on these “turk” threads follow the thinking in my own topic on another forum. I’d attribute it to “great minds think ….” but I don’t want to insult styg50. Here’s what I had to say in late June:

”-..Parker and Glenn Martinez appear to be fighting for the same position, so the sixth spot is still a race. Royal’s ability as a KR reduces Martinez’s utility.”

I don’t dismiss Martinez’s chances, in fact I went on to praise him. No less that Rod Smith referred to him as the “best route runner on the team”—as I recall. Here’s a little more from my post:

”-..I think they [the Bronco coaches] like his attitude, speed, work ethic, special teams play and route running.”

And let me add blocking, since I agree with styg50 but I failed to mention it. Shanahan is a strong believer in WRs blocking.

Martinez has a lot of the measurables; size, speed, as well as a lot of the un-measurables, too, but his biggest asset was as a KR & PR on a team that - previously - lacked these. Whereas Martinez benefited from a lack of competition at the PR/KR positions last year, he’s facing rather stiff competition this year, and part of what makes him particularly attractive as a backup WR; his size, oddly, also hurts him somewhat in the Returner competition. Martinez is tall and fast but he’s not very big nor strong.

Traditionally, the prototype for WR was a fast guy who could outrun the DBs, and the fastest guys often weigh less than 200 lbs. and measure under six foot tall. Not surprisingly, there have been many receivers who looked like that. However, the thinking has changed over time, as the concept of the receiver’s task has shifted somewhat from that of a blazingly fast track star outrunning the DBs to that of a basketball player going up for a jump ball or rebound. Speed still counts, but a player like Brandon Marshall isn’t as good as he is because he merely outruns his competition.

While size counts at the receiver positions, the returner positions are a different animal. Strength still counts here, too, but no one is too short to be a Returner. In fact, being short can be an asset at Returner—unlike WR. Short players can hide behind their blockers, whereas WRs need the added height to out-jump and block out the DBs for the ball.

Martinez has a tough task this year if he wants to claim a position based on his ability as a Returner. Royal is obviously adept at the position, and Jack Williams and Anthony Alridge are built for the position and will likely be tried at KR. Just a note: Alridge appeared somewhat too small (weight-wise) but I’ve seen him listed lately at 5’9, 174 lbs., which is very close to what Williams and Royal are listed at. All three players are quite strong.

The competition looks too strong for Martinez at PR/KR, so his main avenue for making the team is blocked. His alternative route is at his native position, WR, and the competition is pretty strong there, too. The Broncos kept 5 last year, and that was fewer than most teams. Lack of depth appears to have warranted last year’s decision but this year is different. Even making a 6 man WR corps may be tough, and here’s who I think will be the first 5: (#1) Marshall, (#2) Stokley, (#3) Colbert, (#4) Jackson, (#5) Royal. These 5 are fairly certain, IMO, so the only chance Martinez has is if they keep 6, and that’s somewhat likely, although not a given. The final slot will be between Samie Parker and Glenn Martinez, and I’m leaning towards Parker, who has shown far better production at WR during his career.

Martinez makes a lot of important contributions to the team, many of which - like blocking - go unnoticed by fans, but it’s going to be very hard for the staff to justify keeping him on the 53 man roster, especially when his talents are replicated by others on the team. Last year’s roster was ideal for him and he still didn’t make the last cuts; this year’s roster is a very different story. I don’t know that we’ve seen the last of him, and it’s possible that circumstances may necessitate bringing him back during the season.

Just saw this:

July 11, 2008
Rookie WR Royal could be surprise starter for Broncos
As we near training camp, word out of Denver is that Keary Colbert has a slight edge over Darrell Jackson to become the team’s No. 2 wide receiver, but rookie Eddie Royal is a dark-horse candidate for the job, according to sources. We hear Broncos coaches like what Royal showed in the squad’s minicamps and are willing to give him a shot at passing the two veterans on the depth chart. When he was drafted in the second round it largely was believed that Royal would contribute almost purely as a kick returner this season, but those views are beginning to change. Observers of the Broncos’ OTAs say Royal has been inconsistent at times, but his speed and ability to get in and out of breaks quickly have endeared him to the offensive coaching staff. Regardless, Denver is feeling upbeat about its receiving corps at this point, with a potential top five of Brandon Marshall, Colbert, Jackson, Brandon Stokley and Royal.

Found it here

if we keep 6, it seems to be parker and martinez duking it out. if one of them shows consistency as a backup pr/kr, then that may shift the balance in their favor. i am not a big fan of parker, but this is a close race. if we keep 5, then both are gone. i don’t expect jackson or kolbert to stumble, but if one of them shows questionable hands/blocking, then that opens the door a little. if martinez catches everything in sight and blocks well, he may take a spot from one of them and surprise. that seems like a long shot, though

Shanny wanted to draft Hester in 2006 but he was taken before he had a chance to in the 2nd round. He was taken 4 spots b4 the Broncos picked. Denver did get Sheff. So maybe in the long run it will work to Denvers advantage by eventually getting Royal