The receiver nicknamed “Circus” certainly lived up to the moniker on his celebrations last year — particularly after scoring a touchdown in his preseason return to his hometown of Detroit.
While Kircus didn’t have many catches — nine for 187 yards — his pace was the best, as his per-catch average of 20.8 yards led the team.
Where Kircus might be best positioned to make an impact for 2007 is on special teams. The untimely death of Darrent Williams left a vacancy at punt returner, and Kircus showed flashes of brilliance in his brief forays into the return game last year, with a 14.3-yard average on six punt runbacks, including a 42-yard return at Oakland on Nov. 12.
Even if the Broncos don’t acquire a receiver or receivers in the draft or free agency, Kircus will have a more crowded wideout field in which he must compete this year with Domenik Hixon set to enter the fray. Hixon, one of the Broncos’ fourth-round picks last year, missed all of the offseason camps and the entire season with a foot injury incurred during workouts leading up to the draft last year, but is fully recovered now.
FINAL ANALYSIS: Had at least one catch in seven of the Broncos’ 16 games … Now has a 20.9-yards-per-catch average for his career.
NEXT: Offensive lineman Chris Kuper.
Offense was not built on the passer alone, and Jay Cutler’s immediate success or struggle as the Broncos’ starting quarterback may well rest as much upon the legs of the men lining up behind him as the prodigious right arm the rookie has only been able to brandish in practice the last three months.
David Kircus may have the Broncos’ longest special-teams return of the season to date, but he knows that he’ll still catch flak for it.