Hey, anybody remember Brandon Stokley? He was a fantasy rock star back in 2004 with the Colts when he racked up 1077 receiving yards and 10 TDs - as the #3 WR! Ah yeah, those were the days...
He was injured for a lot of 2005 and nearly all of 2006, but now he's back on a one-year deal with the Broncos. He expects to be playing in pads by the time the Broncos start camp at the end of the month.
Because of the situation in Denver, Stokley plays a bigger fantasy role than he normally would. Javon Walker is established as the #1 WR, but the other wide receivers are 37 year old Rod Smith, who's coming off a hip injury (ehhh, I've fallen!), second year man Brandon Marshall and former Browns washout Quincy Morgan.
A healthy Stokley would easily outrank any one of the trio of Smith, Marshall and Morgan. In fact, a healthy Stokley would potentially be a very nice #2 WR for the Broncos and could put up some fantasy friendly numbers this season. "Is Stokley healthy?" then becomes the big question.
I don't know. You can't take what he says right now at face value because he's trying to stay positive for training camp. But keep an eye on what Stokley is doing in training camp, because he is a very interesting prospect. Even if he looks slow in camp and Smith or Marshall start off playing opposite Walker, Stokely could be a great mid-season pickup as he starts to find his form. There aren't many potential #2 NFL receivers available in the last few rounds of your draft or off the Week 4 waiver wire.