Broncos sent a loud message to Troy Franklin after first depth chart release

The Denver Broncos release their first unofficial depth chart on Wednesday, and while the Sean Payton-era Broncos don't tend to have anything too notable within their offseason depth charts, that doesn't mean things can't catch our eye.

Something that the Payton-era Broncos have done is list the rookies at the bottom of the depth chart, perhaps on purpose. It's obvious that what is currently out there is not finalized, but that does not mean certain spots aren't accurate.

The Broncos did make a major addition to the wide receiver room this offseason in acquiring Jaylen Waddle, so this is absolutely a position where it's important to keep tabs on, as the Broncos have a trio of other young players in the room, and it seems like third-year WR Troy Franklin might be getting passed up on the depth chart.

Denver Broncos WR Troy Franklin getting passed up on the initial depth chart

The Broncos do have some rookie receivers on the depth chart, but the majority of the room is filled with veterans. With that said, the Broncos 'starters' at the position in this depth chart would obviously be Waddle and Courtland Sutton, but that third starter is Marvin Mims Jr:

Right behind Mims is Franklin, who is sharing that second-team offense with Lil'Jordan Humphrey and Pat Bryant, who is slotted behind Sutton. While this may not be the biggest shock in the world, it's certainly notable that the second-leading receiver on the team last year is now, at best, the fourth player in the room.

Franklin finished right behind Sutton in 2025 in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. He hauled in 65 receptions for 709 yards and six touchdowns, which was a rather successful progression from his rookie season.

Franklin is also still just 23 years old, so he's honestly as young as certain rookies despite being in his third year already. With Bryant and Mims both having made big-time plays in camp thus far, it's clear that the stock is up on those two players, and while there isn't anything out there to indicate that Franklin hasn't done his job, this could be an instance where Franklin's ceiling is lower than that of Bryant's and Mims'.

Perhaps we should have seen this coming when the Broncos pulled that trade off for Waddle, as the team clearly made that move because they didn't think the room was good enough - why else would they have traded a first and a third-round pick for a receiver?

Franklin still may have a role on the Broncos in 2026, but he really doesn't do anything particularly well, and I believe that's been magnified here over the past couple of weeks during camp. Even though he was teammates with Bo Nix at Oregon, it seems like his status in the receiving room is slipping.

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