On Thursday the San Diego Chargers signed former Denver Broncos receiver/returner Eddie Royal to a three-year contract worth $13.5 million, including $6 million guaranteed (source: @UTKevinAcee). The Redskins nearly completed a deal with Royal earlier in the week that would have sent him to Washington with Pierre Garçon and Josh Morgan, but the Chargers lured Royal away instead.
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San Diego added Royal just two days after Robert Meachem signed with the team to replace the newly Buccaneered Vincent Jackson. Royal and Meachem join Malcom Floyd, Vincent Brown, Antonio Gates, and Ryan Matthews to give Philip Rivers a full complement of targets.
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Royal had an impressive rookie year in 2008, catching 91 passes for 980 yards and five touchdowns, including this game-winning touchdown and two-point conversion against the Chargers in his second career game. The following year he torched San Diego again by returning a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns in the same game. The Chargers have experienced the many ways that his explosiveness can dishearten an opponent and decided they would rather have the former Virginia Tech star on their side.
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| Receiving | Rushing | Punt Returns | Kickoff Returns | Total | Fantasy Pts | |||||||||
| Year | Gm | Rec | Yd | Rush | Yd | Ret | Yd | Yd/Ret | Ret | Yd | Yd/Ret | TD | Non-PPR | PPR |
| 2011 | 12 | 19 | 155 | 7 | 48 | 12 | 194 | 16.2 | 3 | 47 | 15.7 | 3 | 38.3 | 57.3 |
| 2010 | 16 | 59 | 627 | 6 | 61 | 25 | 298 | 11.9 | 5 | 107 | 21.4 | 3 | 82.8 | 141.8 |
| 2009 | 14 | 37 | 345 | 1 | 1 | 30 | 335 | 11.2 | 26 | 621 | 23.9 | 2 | 46.6 | 83.6 |
| 2008 | 15 | 91 | 980 | 11 | 109 | 14 | 140 | 10.0 | 23 | 600 | 26.1 | 5 | 138.9 | 229.9 |
| Totals: | 57 | 206 | 2107 | 25 | 219 | 81 | 967 | 11.9 | 57 |
1375 | 24.1 | 13 | 306.6 | 516.6 |
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Unfortunately, Royal has struggled to reproduce the success of his rookie year. Quarterback and coaching changes in Denver could be to blame, but this past year Royal's health was his primary obstacle. Regardless of what has caused the decline, the Chargers believe in Royal's potential and think he can reproduce some of his rookie-year magic in San Diego.
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Fantasy Spin:
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Royal could be viewed as a triple threat in the running, passing, and return game. He carried the ball some in Denver, but not nearly enough to draw comparisons to Darren Sproles or Percy Harvin. Royal might be a better fit for the slot position than San Diego's other receivers, but the Chargers won't go out of their way to get him more reps than Meachem, Floyd, or Brown. Besides, it's not like Rivers has a history of producing fantasy relevant slot receivers. Royal has a little value in leagues that score return yardage, but even those career numbers aren't eye-popping. His 11.9 yards per punt return would be about the seventh-best each year, and his 24.1 yards per kickoff return would be roughly twentieth.
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Basically Royal is the fourth wide receiver on the Chargers and will rank sixth in targets (behind Matthews and Gates). He's slightly above average as a returner and will have a minor role in the running game. He has the talent to have fantasy impact, but unless his fellow receivers fall to injuries before he does, Royal isn't fantasy relevant. He's at least outside of my top 70 wide receivers.
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For details on Meachem's fantasy outlook with the Chargers, be sure to check out Alex Miglio's article. Visit our fantasy articles page to keep up with our detailed analysis of the big free-agent signings.
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