Mile High Report
At 11 games in, Troy Franklin enters the 2025 bye week with 46 receptions off of 81 targets and 5 touchdowns. Not since the days of Glyn Milburn have fans been so excited by electric play and so incredibly frustrated by all the dropped balls.
On Sunday against the Chiefs, Troy Franklin and Courtland Sutton had 8 targets (4 catches) on Sunday. Against the Raiders, Franklin was targeted 9 times (5 catches) to Sutton’s 4 targets (3 catches). There is one big difference between Courtland and Franklin — Courtland usually catches the balls that hit him in the hands.
Franklin may not realize it, but he is at a crossroads with the Denver Broncos. He can either become the go-to receiver that supplants Courtland Sutton or the drops will fizzle his sizzle. Simply put, the Broncos can’t retain a receiver who struggles to catch half the balls that are thrown his way. Yes, he was the hero on Sunday against the Chiefs with a clutch catch, but with that triumph comes the disappointment in the balls that he should have caught.
Being Bo Nix’s security blanket will only get him so far. If he wants to stick around, he will need to make reliability a hallmark of his play. Right now, Franklin has 81 targets to Sutton’s 74 in 2025. Franklin caught 57% of the balls thrown his way while Sutton caught 60%. While statistically, it doesn’t seem like that much of a difference, it may be a bigger deal when it comes to winning and losing for the rest of the season. With the data showing that Nix has elevated Franklin over Sutton, it’s time for Franklin to show that he’s a long-term answer at wide receiver.
