“From Afterthought To Spotlight: Broncos’ Second-Year WR Shocks The NFL With Breakout Game,Some Fans Already Comparing Him To Legends While Others Warn It Could Be A One-Week Mirage”
We got to see a small glimpse of what Denver Broncos wide receiver Troy Franklin is capable of late in his rookie season in 2024 — most notably in a playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills.
That was when Denver’s rookie quarterback and Franklin’s college teammate, Bo Nix, made franchise history as the first rookie quarterback to start a playoff game for Denver. Just 5 plays later, Nix’s 43-yard touchdown pass to fellow rookie Franklin made NFL history.
“INCREDIBLE, but true Bo Nix to Troy Franklin is the FIRST rookie to rookie TD in NFL PLAYOFF HISTORY,” NFL on CBS wrote on its official X account.
It was one of the few highlights for the Broncos in a blowout loss, but it does seem to have boded well for Franklin headed into his second NFL season.
That was underlined when he had 4 receptions for 67 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 27-7 preseason win over the Arizona Cardinals on August 16, with all of those numbers coming in the first half.
Franklin played well enough that Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox singled him out as the “Biggest Winner” for the Broncos following his electric performance.
“When the Broncos used a fourth-round selection on Oregon wideout Troy Franklin last year, many viewed it as a sneaky-good pick,” Knox wrote on August 17.
“After all, Franklin would be joining college teammate Bo Nix in Denver. But Franklin had a quiet first season — 26 catches for 263 yards and two scores.
Entering Year 2, Franklin has been making noise in training camp, and against the Redbirds Saturday night he raised quite the ruckus — five first-half targets, four catches, 67 yards and a pair of touchdowns.”
Intense Battle To Become Broncos WR2 Option
There is a crazy battle between young Broncos wide receivers to be the WR2 option in 2025 behind star Courtland Sutton, who signed a 4-year, $92 million contract extension on July 28.
Franklin and ellow wide receivers DeVaughn Vele, Marvin Mims and rookie third round pick Pat Bryant all seem to be in the mix.
That group will also have to deal with a revamped tight end role with 2-time Pro Bowler Evan Engram and, possibly, a breakout star in rookie running back and 2025 second round pick (No. 60 overall) RJ Harvey.
Want your touches in 2025? It’s going to be a week-in, week-out dogfight.
“Mims, Vele and Troy Franklin, who scored Denver’s lone touchdown in the wild-card loss to the Buffalo Bills, could rightly envision themselves having ‘ascensions,’ as Payton put it, in the Broncos’ offense this season,” The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider wrote on June 3.
“But the math suggests the Broncos can’t ramp up production for all three targets while building more of the passing game around Engram, incorporating Bryant and continuing to feed Sutton at a high level. So how will the distribution shake out?”
Heavy Workload Nothing New For Franklin
Franklin, 6-foot-2 and 176 pounds, has shown he can handle a heavy workload dating back to his college days.
In 3 seasons at Oregon, he had 160 receptions for 2,483 yards and a school record 25 receiving touchdowns.
In his final year with the Ducks catching passes from Nix in 2023, he was an All-American with 81 receptions for 1,383 yards and 14 touchdowns.
