The battle for #2 wide receiver is definitely heating up for the Denver Broncos. The key competitors in this are Samie Parker, Darrell Jackson, Keary Colbert, Brandon Stokley and 2nd round pick Eddie Royal. The #1 slot is of course locked in, with Brandon Marshall. Marshall is ahead of schedule in his rehab, as he’s currently running routes with the team but not yet allowed to catch passes (He should be cleared by June 22nd and fully ready for training camp). But, let’s take a look at the players involved and who has a chance at the job, and who will be working the waiver wire.

The one player totally guaranteed a job is Brandon Stokley. The Broncos will most likely keep Stokley in the slot position. In his first season with the team, Stokley had his best season in the league in over 3 years. So naturally, the team would like to have him stay in the role that he succeeded in. Not a bad decision.

The Denver Post lists the main two candidates as Darrell Jackson and Keary Colbert. Both players are new to the Broncos, and both had respectable seasons last year considering the situations they were in. Jackson was stuck with the San Francisco 49ers where he caught 46 catches for 497 yards. Colbert played with the Carolina Panthers catching 32 balls, tallying 332 yards. Out of the four remaining guys, you have to consider these two as the class of the field. The main difference between these two is age! Colbert turns 26 this month, while Jackson will be turning 30 during the season. Jackson has had some injury history but it looks like those might be a thing of the past.

Now what about 2nd round pick Eddie Royal? Royal played at Virginia Tech last season and the main knock on this guy has to be his height. He’s only 5′10 and will most likely have to earn his playing time by succeeding as a return man to start. At Tech, he caught 32 passes for 485 yards. With his speed thou he could challenge Stokley for some playing time at the slot. In the beginning, this would be the role he would have to shoot for as he learns NFL defenses, builds strenghth, and just in general finding out what its going to take a for receiver his size to succeed in the league.

The guy who is probably on his way out is Samie Parker. The Broncos most likely will not go with 6 receivers to start the season, so obviously one would have to go. I believe Parker was signed more as a back-up should Jackson have not signed. Parker can compete and has put up respectable numbers, but yet doesn’t seem to really have a fit with this team. He’ll get a legitimate chance to win a spot in training camp but its most likely a long shot.

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