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Ryan Broyles is a very intriguing player to follow heading into training camp. After tearing his ACL duing his senior season in college, he fell to the Detroit Lions in the second round last April. Broyles was a college superstar, and he still holds the record for receptions in a career (349), but he’s yet to get back on track in the NFL. An injury to his other knee limited him during his rookie campaign, and he’s just now getting back into form.
Broyles recently admitted that part of the problem last season was that he came back too soon from his knee injury. “I definitely rushed last year. I was running in three and a half months on full speed, cutting routes. This time I have a little bit more rest, heal up my patella. I feel a lot stronger at this point this year than I did last year.”
If the former collegiate star can get back to full strength in 2013, the Lions will be in business. It’s pretty clear the team drafted him with the hope he’d evolve into a reliable No. 2 option behind Calvin Johnson, and that’s still possible. We’ve seen what Broyles is capable of, and now it’s just a matter of him getting to 100% before he goes hard this year. So far, he hasn’t been participating in OTAs.
At this point the Lions won’t commit to a time-frame for his return, but it’s safe to assume they won’t be rushing one single aspect of his recovery this time around. All indications are that he’s on target to ready by sometime in the first quarter of the season. The Lions have plenty of playmakers in place without him, and there’s just no point to putting him back out there unless he’s fully healthy.
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