If there was any thought about Denver Broncos wide receiver Troy Franklin being on the roster bubble heading into this offseason, that talk might be over.
Franklin changed to jersey number 11 this offseason, his college number, and he's been anticipated as one of the top players to potentially break through and take his game to the next level in 2025. And the Broncos desperately need it.
Franklin showed up to OTAs looking motivated and playing with more confidence, according to sources, and Sean Payton dropped a little bit of a nugget about him when he was asked a question about fellow wide receiver Marvin Mims.
"I think you’re going to see those (Marvin Mims) types of ascensions with players like Troy [Franklin]."
- Broncos HC Sean Payton (via team PR)
Sean Payton expecting WR Troy Franklin to take next step for Broncos
What we saw from Marvin Mims last year was a deliberate inclusion in the offensive game plan after it seemed like he was lost in the shuffle a little bit. We saw Mims completely find his confidence as a player and become a viable all-around offensive weapon for the Broncos after last year's trade deadline.
The Broncos have the advantage of that experience and the ability to discover now how to find that role for Franklin as opposed to figuring it out in the middle of the year, or hoping they can figure it out in the middle of the year.
Franklin has the size and speed to be an effective playmaker at all three levels of the field for the Broncos, but his involvement last year felt a lot like a square peg, round hole type of situation. The timing between he and Bo Nix was off. He wasn't getting a lot of opportunities on mesh concepts or routes in which he could showcase his YAC abilities.
The Broncos moved up to get Franklin in last year's draft and based on the struggles of his rookie year, there was a bit of a perception out there that he was entering this offseason on the dreaded roster bubble. And Payton's view of him, even though it's only OTAs, is pretty clear that Franklin isn't going anywhere.
In fact, it seems much more likely that he's going to be adding a dynamic element to the offense. For a Broncos team last year that struggled to move the ball consistently at times, the development of a guy like Franklin would be massive in 2025.