William Edward Royal (born May 21, 1986) is an American former football wide receiver and return specialist.

He played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies and was elected to its sports hall of fame in 2018.

[2][3] He received All-America honors from PrepStar and SuperPrep (who named Royal the top high school player in the state of Virginia).

[8] In 2004, Royal received freshman All-America honors from The NFL Draft Report after hauling in 28 passes for 470 yards (16.8 avg.)

[9] Royal started all 13 games as a sophomore in 2005, finishing third on Virginia Tech with 27 receptions for 315 yards (11.7 avg.)

[12] He played 13 games with 11 starts in 2007, 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).

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.

[18] 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.

[20] 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.

[21] 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.

[23] The performance earned him the honor of Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week for the second time in his career.

[26] Early in the 2009 season, Royal became the fourth 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.

Royal suffered a groin injury during the first day of training camp and shortly thereafter, his mom fell ill and he found himself making several trips home to Virginia to be by her side.

Despite the slow start in San Diego, Royal finished the year strong and his best games were during the end of the season.

[32] In 2013, Royal reunited with new Chargers head coach Mike McCoy, his old offensive coordinator in Denver.

[33] In 2014, Royal played one of the biggest roles in bringing former Virginia Tech teammate and Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Brandon Flowers to the Chargers.