The quiet emergence of Brandon Lloyd
If you asked an average NFL fan who led the league in receiving yards last season, they might not be able to tell you. It wasn’t Larry Fitzgerald or Reggie Wayne, Andre Johnson or Roddy White. It was, if the headline of the story didn’t already give it away, Brandon Lloyd of the Denver Broncos.
Prior to his 2010 season, Brandon Lloyd was most known for being one of the biggest free-agent busts in recent history. After signing a six-year, $30 million contract with the Washington Redskins in April 2006 that was helped by his then-career-high 2005 season where he had 48 catches for 733 yards in San Francisco, expectations were lofty. Results weren’t, though; Lloyd ended up producing 25 catches over two seasons in Washington before being cut in February 2008. After following that with two subpar seasons in Chicago and Denver, it seemed like his 2005 season would be the peak of his career.
Then, last year happened. It started with a five-catch, 117-yard game in Jacksonville in the season opener. After a quieter Week 2 (three catches, 53 yards), he had 22 catches for 419 yards and three touchdowns the next three weeks. Kim Constantinesco of Predominantly Orange, Fansided‘s Broncos blog, said Lloyd’s re-emergence was a story even the biggest Bronco followers didn’t see coming.
“We lost our leading receiver in Brandon Marshall and we didn’t know who was going to step up to fill Marshall’s big shoes,” Constantinesco said. “In his nine-year career, Brandon Lloyd was never seen as a No. 1 target. In fact, some Denver fans speculated that he was on the tail end of his career … Towards the end of the season, no matter who the Broncos were playing, people had confidence that Lloyd would come to play and put up big numbers every game. He didn’t disappoint.”
Lloyd not only ended up as the league’s leading receiver in terms of yardage, but also finished the leading receiver in fantasy football points under most standard scoring systems. Even though fantasy football players take recent performance into account, there seem to be questions about Lloyd and his ability to repeat his great season, though. In fact, Chet Gresham of fantasy sports site Razzball said people seem to be so worried about a crash back to Earth that Lloyd may be flying under the radar once again.
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“There seems to be a large majority of fantasy football pundits once again undervaluing Brandon Lloyd this season,” Gresham said. “There is sure to be a regression from last season, but right now his average draft position has him going in the late fourth or early fifth round, which seems too late for me.”
However, Lloyd’s status also has plenty of outside factors that could impact his performance. With a healthy Eddie Royal opposite Lloyd and Jabar Gaffney as the No. 3 receiver, whoever leads the Bronco offense will have other targets to look towards. That leads us to point number two. Neither Tim Tebow nor Kyle Orton will be mistaken for top quarterbacks, obviously a big factor for receiver performance (just ask Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald how he’s enjoying the post-Kurt Warner era). The third is that Josh McDaniels is no longer the head coach, and the pass-happy offense is now likely to be a more balanced scheme under new head coach John Fox.
There are some reasons to believe Lloyd will continue having success despite the changes, though.
“While the offense will be set up differently under Fox, with an emphasis on balancing the run game and the passing game, Mike McCoy is returning as offensive coordinator,” Constantinesco said. “McCoy understands how to use Lloyd in the offense as far as where he’s most effective on the field and which routes he runs the best.”
Even increased balance may not hurt, as that could draw defenses into guarding against the run and becoming vulnerable when the Broncos do throw.
The Broncos intend to get a big-name running back in free agency, so the team should have a better rushing attack, which would help Lloyd and the rest of the Broncos receivers,” Constantinesco said.
Gresham said the quarterback question is also nothing to be terribly concerned with, because Lloyd put up his numbers last year with the same duo.
“Both Tim Tebow and Kyle Orton got Lloyd the ball and he was effective under both,” Gresham said. “Lloyd fights for receptions and can go up and get balls that are off-target. Tebow isn’t the most accurate passer, but he will put it up there for him to get it. We know that Orton and he have chemistry.”
Lloyd is a different breed of receiver than we are perhaps used to. He’s not outspoken or brash like other receivers, and this offseason he worked as a salesman for a Colorado-based company that sells specialty metals for the aerospace industry. For many players, that would be unheard of. For the NFL’s leading receiver, it’s even more unusual, given that his position has some of the most notorious personalities in the NFL with players like Chad Ochocinco, Randy Moss and Terrell Owens.
Last season Lloyd attributed his success more to the system and playcalling than to anything he did differently. That’s a kind of humility that could end up being one of the reasons his success will continue. Through the ups and downs of a professional football career, the 30-year old may have found the perfect fit in Denver.
However, things aren’t necessarily going to be a cakewalk for Lloyd. Last year, everyone would admit the expectations for him were low or even non-existent. That will change this year, and it may make putting up the stats more difficult. Still, while he may not be a popular pick to be at the top of the league again, this could be a turning point for Lloyd’s career. Constantinesco said putting up the stats again won’t be easy for Lloyd, but Broncos’ fans expectations are still high.
“We’re expecting another big season out of Lloyd, but he does have a target on his back now, so he’s got his work cut out for him.”
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