The NFL is an extremely difficult business and you just never know what's going to happen year over year with certain players. You can be a superstar one year and floating around the league the next. You can be everyone's favorite NFL Draft steal one year, and on the roster bubble the next.
In the 2024 NFL Draft, pretty much everyone in the Denver Broncos fan base was beyond excited when the team moved up in the 4th round to select Oregon Ducks wide receiver Troy Franklin. Franklin was routinely projected to go somewhere in the first two or three rounds of mock draft scenarios, and getting him on Day 3 was perceived as an outstanding value.
Not only that, but the decision to move up and get Franklin also reunited him in the NFL with his college quarterback, Bo Nix, the Broncos' first-round pick in 2024. One year after the nearly cathartic decision to reunite the two Ducks teammates in the NFL, Franklin finds himself in potentially some serious roster trouble after the Broncos' selection of Pat Bryant with the 74th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Broncos sealing Troy Franklin's fate with Pat Bryant selection?
The good news for Troy Franklin is very simple: He ended the 2024 season on about as high of a note as possible.
Not only did the Denver Broncos have him active for the postseason matchup against the Buffalo Bills, but Franklin was a target of the opening script. He's someone this team has been a bit bullish on since drafting him, even if he found himself in the proverbial doghouse at times as a rookie.
Franklin has changed from jersey No. 16 to No. 11, which might be bigger than anyone realizes as he looks to recapture the magic he had with Bo Nix at Oregon.
But with the selection of Pat Bryant in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, you can't help but wonder how much of the luster of the idea of Troy Franklin excelling on this team has worn off for the coaching staff. Maybe not at all. Maybe Bryant is simply coming in to be part of Sean Payton's ever-growing list of players he uses in different combinations to drive defenses crazy throughout the course of a season.
You can't have too much depth in the NFL these days, and although Bryant and Franklin are extremely similar in size, they are vastly different in their all-around skill set and strengths.
Still, the addition of a wide receiver with a relatively high Day 2 selection in the draft puts Franklin (and Devaughn Vele, for that matter) on notice. NFL rosters come down to a numbers game and there are only going to be so many devoted spots to guys who won't dress to at least play special teams on gamedays. Franklin is going to need to learn to make his mark there as well.
If he struggles with dropped passes or running the wrong routes again in 2025, it could be tough for the Broncos to justify keeping him around, even with his tremendous talent.