Watts up in Denver?

By Robert Rousseau  |   Monday, September 04, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Denver Broncos
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Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan kept saying that he knew what he had in third-year receiver Darius Watts. Clearly, that was why Watts wasn't getting as many snaps as the other wideouts in preseason contests. After all, Watts had been on the Broncos for two straight years.

By indicating less need to evaluate Watts' play, most felt that Shanahan was in fact saying that the former Marshall standout had already made the team; it was people like David Kircus, David Terrell and Todd Devoe that had to worry.

In fact, when the word came down that Ashley Lelie was likely to be traded awhile back, many believed Watts would take his place as the Broncos' third receiver.

Boy, was everybody wrong on this one.

On Sept. 2 the news came in. Some of those supposed fringe players - Kircus and Devoe, for example - were still on the team. Unfortunately, Darius Watts wasn't.

"I didn't see it coming," he said in an Associated Press article. "Tell me if anybody did. All I can think of now is rolling on."

It all begs the question: Why did this happen?

First, there was rookie Brandon Marshall. Though he's injured now, Marshall has first-round talent and looks like he has the potential to be much more than a third receiver. Next, there was the surprising Kircus, who's looked much better than his NFL past might indicate since donning a Broncos uniform (12 catches for 214 yards in the preseason). Finally, there was the fact that Watts, though talented, had done nearly nothing last year after a decent rookie campaign. He was a known quantity; unfortunately for the 6-foot-2, 190-pounder, what the Broncos knew about him apparently wasn't good enough.

Still, Watts was a good player in college and is a hard worker (the Broncos had a lot of good things to say about his preseason effort). The former second-rounder is likely to catch on with another team. In the end, perhaps this will be a good life lesson for him.

After all, the future is now in the NFL. As soon as you get your chance, you better take advantage. That and he better improve his hands.

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About Robert Rousseau

Robert Rousseau is a sports writer that has been published in a variety of print and online venues. He’s been writing for RealFootball365.com for almost three years now. When Rousseau isn’t writing about college football he tends to be penning mixed martial arts pieces for MMAFighting.com or ...
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