Mile High Report
Troy Franklin is having a training camp that young players strive for.
Franklin has been consistent throughout training camp, stacking great practices on great practices and making plays in the process. This type of showing puts a player in a prime position to have a key role come the regular season.
After a rookie season in which he performed at an OK level, the second-year Denver Broncos receiver is forcing his teammates and coaches to take notice. He seems to have taken that 43-yard touchdown catch in the playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills as the confidence builder to where he is now.
And while the starting offense struggled in the preseason opener against the San Francisco 49ers, you could see that Franklin was being featured in Saturday’s game. In his limited snaps, he had two receptions for 18 yards, including a key catch on fourth down.
“Guys mature as they get more experience,” Offensive Coordinator Joe Lombardi said to the Broncos website earlier this week. “He’s certainly playing faster and making more plays. We’re real excited about him. He’s really stood out.”
When the Broncos selected Franklin in the fourth round of last year’s NFL Draft, there was the expectation and hope that he and quarterback Bo Nix would carry over their chemistry and playmaking ability from Oregon. That didn’t happen last season.
Franklin finished his rookie season with 28 catches for 263 yards and two touchdowns. He also tacked on two carries for eight yards. If not a few drops on would-be highlight reel plays, last season could have turned out completely differently for Franklin.
To his credit, Franklin seems to have put that behind him and gotten better. Obviously, carrying it over to the preseason games will help, but the regular season is the main dish. If he’s able to continue this consistency when the games “count,” he’s due for a breakout season.
It’s not just the playmaking, either. Franklin is showing Sean Payton and his offensive coaches that he can be used in multiple positions. As Payton said to the media on Friday, Franklin is “much more versed” in both the system and the routes. Lombardi even credited his physical blocking.
“As a rookie, you really want to nail down on one position,” Lombardi added Tuesday. “Now that he’s got that, he’s working in the slot a little bit, and that gives him some more flexibility of what we can do with him. He’s really been doing a great job with all of that.
“It’s been a really good camp for him.”
