Denver Broncos: Eric Decker Is Bound for Career Year with Peyton Manning

There is no doubt about it, Eric Decker was absolutely sincere in his recent interview with ESPN radio about Peyton Manning. Decker states, "The guy's still throwing the ball a long time, throwing it great, hitting you in the right spot." And if Decker was able to thrive with limited quarterback opportunities in 2011, he should explode with perhaps the best quarterback of his generation.

Among other things, Decker praised Manning's work ethic. Manning is a smart man and will come back ready to make up for his lost time. And it helps that Eric Decker is very similar to Manning's pal, Brandon Stokley. If Manning and Decker have anything close to the connection Manning and Stokley had, Denver fans should be in for a great ride.

For starters. Decker is better suited as a slot receiver. Though he has shown he has big-play ability, Manning loves his possession receivers. In 2011, Decker managed to start 13 games and was the team's leading receiver. The flashy play should be left to Demaryius Thomas and Decker should be Manning's security blanket.

Stokley is listed at 6'0'' and 192 lbs and Decker is listed at 6'3'' and 218 lbs. In Manning's record-setting 2004 season, Stokley was third on the depth chart and only started three games. Yet he managed 68 receptions for 1,077 yards and 10 touchdowns. Decker was the Broncos' leading receiver in 2011 with 44 receptions for 612 yards and eight touchdowns.

Stokley's and Decker's heights and weights aren't too far off from each other and both are solid receivers. If Stokely didn't even start and finished a season with over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns, there is no reason why Decker cannot have similar success.

The only thing really holding Decker back in 2011 was inconsistent quarterback play. He went from a passing quarterback in Kyle Orton to a quarterback in Tim Tebow, who maybe attempted 15 passes a game. Not that it was Tebow's fault for the play calling, but he rarely has the opportunity to sit back and throw. And when he did, Decker was usually making plays happen.

Coming off an injury, Decker should get along very well with Manning. Both will be inspired to recover and Manning spends a lot of time throwing to his receivers on his own time. In a new offense with new weapons, Manning and Decker are bound to spend countless hours working on their chemistry.

A team doesn't bring in a quarterback like Peyton Manning to stay a rush-first offense. Wideout Eric Decker had a very impressive sophomore season, but the team's leading receiver didn't even average three receptions per game. With Manning under center, Decker is bound to break out and be a big part of the offense and his statistics will show for it.

Eric Decker was able to make big plays downfield with very limited opportunities in 2011. With an established quarterback who has had enormous success with receivers similar to himself, there is no reason to believe Decker won't have a career year this season.

And since Decker is already spending loads of time with his new quarterback, the chemistry working is well underway.