In case you were hoping to get on the Troy Franklin hype train, it's about to leave the station at Denver Broncos training camp. As the Denver Broncos get ready to literally leave Dove Valley and go practice with the 49ers before their preseason matchup, the hype train for Franklin is not only leaving the station, it might soon be going off the rails.
Onlookers at Tuesday's Broncos training camp practice noted that it was the best day yet for the second-year receiver out of Oregon, and that's saying something, because Franklin has been stacking days dating back to OTAs and minicamp.
The Broncos entered the 2025 offseason with an undeniable need to upgrade at wide receiver, and they opted to mostly do that with in-house prospects. Franklin appears poised to prove them right.
Troy Franklin crushing it at Denver Broncos training camp in 2025
Last season, what were Franklin's primary struggles? He looked like a fish out of water playing in the NFL. His speed wasn't translating because he wasn't able to play as fast as we'd seen from him at the college level. Franklin's ability to win deep as a vertical weapon was obviously still there, but even when he was winning deep, he was either dropping passes or Bo Nix wasn't hitting him.
The chemistry -- or lack thereof -- between Nix and Franklin was evident. All of Broncos Country tried seemingly every week to manifest the same level of connection we saw from those two guys at Oregon, and it didn't really materialize until the playoffs against the Buffalo Bills.
Franklin was shockingly featured on the opening drive of Denver's playoff game in Buffalo, and he wasn't just featured -- he broke the ice with a deep ball touchdown grab. Unfortunately for the Broncos, the game didn't end there. But that moment was a huge one for Franklin's confidence.
He changed his jersey number from 16 back to his college number 11 this offseason. His confidence has been building. He's been making plays, impressing the coaching staff, and stacking days at training camp. He's catching passes from all the quarterbacks, and beating a variety of the defensive backs he's going up against. And he's not just doing it when he's wide open, either.
Franklin is making tough catches. He's making contested catches. He's making diving catches. He's making plays after the catch. He's making plays when the Broncos are doing situational work like third down, red zone, or end of half situations.
To say it's been a great camp for Franklin might be selling it short at this point. All of Broncos Country is going to be eager to see his improvements when the team takes the field against the 49ers on Saturday, and he can showcase how much better he's gotten.
And at that point, the hype train will be long gone.