Eddie Royal William Edward " Eddie " Royal ( born May 21 , 1986 ) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft . He played college football at Virginia Tech . Early years . Royal first attended South Lakes High School and Paul VI Catholic High School before going to Westfield High School in Chantilly , Virginia , where he played for most of his high school football career . He received All - America honors from PrepStar and SuperPrep ( who named Royal the top high school player in the state of Virginia ) . He also earned Washington Post All - Metropolitan player of the year , 1st team all - met , 1st team all - state , 1st team all - region and 1st team all - district honors . While a senior at Westfield High School , Royal , along with future Virginia Tech teammate Sean Glennon and future West Point full back Max Palmatier and future Penn State running back Evan Royster , led his team to an undefeated season record ( 14 - 0 ) in the Virginia Division 6 AAA State Championship . College career . 2004 . Royal received freshman All - America honors from The NFL Draft Report after hauling in 28 passes for 470 yards ( 16 . 8 avg . ) with three touchdowns in 12 games ( 11 starts ) as a true freshman . Returned 25 punts for 274 yards ( 11 . 0 avg . ) and gained 346 yards on 12 kickoff returns ( 28 . 8 avg . ) and totaled 1 , 101 all - purpose yards . 2005 . Royal started all 13 games as a sophomore , finishing third on Virginia Tech with 27 receptions for 315 yards ( 11 . 7 avg . ) with two scores while adding 10 rushes for 79 yards with one touchdown . He returned 32 punts for 263 yards ( 8 . 2 avg . ) and 14 kickoffs for 293 yards ( 20 . 9 avg . ) to account for 950 all - purpose yards . 2006 . Royal played 13 games ( 9 starts ) during his junior year and picked up second - team All - Atlantic Coast Conference honors while being named an honorable mention All - American by Sports Illustrated . Royal caught 31 passes for 497 yards ( 16 . 0 avg . ) with three touchdowns , he led the ACC and ranked 12th in the nation with a 13 . 2 - yard punt return average ( 23 - 304 ) with one touchdown . He added 431 yards on 19 kickoff returns ( 22 . 7 avg . ) and five rushes for 24 yards . He threw a 53 - yard touchdown on a trick play against Georgia Bulldogs in the Peach Bowl . Royal finished with 1 , 256 all - purpose yards ( 96 . 7 ypg . ) . 2007 . He played 13 games with 11 starts , earning first - team All - Atlantic Coast Conference honors and second - team All - America accolades from The NFL Draft Report , he posted career highs in receptions ( 33 - 496 ) and receiving touchdowns ( 4 ) . Led the ACC and ranked 10th in the nation with a 14 . 7 - yard punt return average ( 31 - 455 ) and scored two touchdowns on punt returns . He Added 14 kickoff returns for 316 yards ( 22 . 6 avg . ) and eight rushes for 112 yards ( 14 . 0 avg . ) . Finished with 1 , 379 all - purpose yards ( 106 . 1 ypg . ) , he finished first in career all - purpose yards in school history ( 4 , 686 ) , fourth in career receptions ( 119 ) , fifth in receiving touchdowns ( 12 ) and sixth in receiving yards ( 1 , 778 ) . He was also the Atlantic Coast Conference ' s ( ACC ) all - time leader in punt return yards ( 1 , 296 ) . Royal received second - team All - ACC honors in 2006 and first - team All - ACC honors in 2007 . The Hokies won the Coastal division and secured a bid the 2007 ACC Championship Game in Jacksonville , Florida , there , they faced a rematch with Boston College , champions of the Atlantic Division . Matt Ryan was unable to seize the victory with two fourth - quarter interceptions , sealed the Hokie win and an automatic bid to the Orange Bowl game . Royal finished the game with 4 receptions , 63 yards and 1 TD . He also played in the 2008 Orange Bowl . Royal majored in sociology . Professional career . Denver Broncos . Royal was drafted in the second round ( 42nd overall ) of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos . Royal started and played in his first NFL regular season game on September 8 , 2008 , in a 41 - 14 road win over the Oakland Raiders . He caught nine balls for 146 yards and one touchdown in his debut . Royal ' s 146 receiving yards were the most by any wide receiver in the first week of the 2008 NFL regular season . His nine receptions were the most by a rookie making his debut for the Broncos . Royal ' s first career touchdown catch came in the first quarter of the game on a 26 - yard pass from former Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler . Royal ' s opening week performance yielded voters on NFL . com to select him as the Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week out of five finalists . In Royal ' s second game of the season , he caught five passes for 37 yards and one touchdown , as part of a 39 - 38 Broncos home win over the San Diego Chargers . His touchdown catch came with 24 seconds left in the game on a 4th and 4 from San Diego ' s four - yard - line . The catch made the score 38 - 37 Chargers ; however , the Broncos subsequently went for a two - point conversion , in which Royal caught a pass from Cutler , thus , giving the Broncos a one - point victory . In Week 10 , a game in which the Broncos defeated the Cleveland Browns on the road in comeback fashion , 34 - 30 , Royal caught six passes for 164 yards , including a 93 - yard touchdown pass . The performance earned him the honor of Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week for the second time in his career . On November 30 , 2008 , in a 34 - 17 Broncos road victory over the New York Jets , Royal set a franchise record for most touchdowns ( 5 ) and receiving yards ( 757 ) for a rookie in one season after catching five passes for 84 yards and a touchdown . Eddie ' s 91 receptions are second most in NFL history for a rookie , behind only Anquan Boldin who had 101 . His 980 yards and five touchdowns are both Broncos rookie records . He was seventh in the league among wide receivers in receptions , and sixth in the NFL in total yards . Early in the 2009 season , Royal became the 4th fastest player in NFL history to reach 100 career receptions . On October 19 , 2009 , Royal became the first player in Broncos history , and only the 11th player to date in National Football League history , to return a kickoff ( 93 yards ) and a punt ( 71 yards ) for touchdowns in the same game , leading undefeated Denver to a 34 - 23 win over the San Diego Chargers . San Diego Chargers . On March 15 , 2012 , Royal signed a three - year contract with the San Diego Chargers worth $ 13 . 5 million , $ 6 million of which is guaranteed . Personal . Royal ' s older brother , Chris Royal , plays professional football as well , and coaches at Marshall University . His sister , Capt . Christina Royal , is a graduate of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets where she served as regimental commander .