Mile High Report
The explosive second year wide receiver has been making plays throughout the Broncos OTA practices according to Head Coach Sean Payton.
Wide receiver Troy Franklin is coming off an up-and-down rookie season where he flashed potential but also left some big plays on the field. Now, entering his second season and first full offseason with the Broncos, the explosive wide receiver has been a standout so far during the Broncos' OTA practices.
Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton met with the media yesterday and was asked about Franklin’s development this offseason. Payton told reporters who have only been present for two practices that they haven’t seen all the plays, but there have been several explosive plays from Franklin. Payton added that a strength of his game is his ability to make plays after the catch, and he can run well after the catch.
“You haven’t been able to see all the plays, but there have been a number of explosive plays. He can run, and I would say a strength of his is ball in hand after the catch. He can run after the catch. He’s doing well.”
Franklin is a 6-3 wide receiver with 4.41 speed who flashed his ability after that catch at Oregon and his ability as a deep threat with the Broncos last season. I would expect Payton to design plays to get the ball in the hands of Franklin quickly and allow the explosive wide receiver to make some plays in the open field. We saw a big second-year jump from Marvin Mims Jr. last season, and I believe we could see something similar from Franklin this year. I am pretty bullish on his potential in Sean Payton’s offense with Bo Nix throwing him the ball.
The Broncos' wide receiver room in general could see a big jump this upcoming year. There have been multiple reports about Devaughn Vele being a star of OTAs so far, Marvin Mims will continue to be a playmaker, rookie Pat Bryant could have a big role, and of course, Courtland Sutton will be out there making highlight reel catches. It’s just OTA non-padded practices in early June, but the excitement about the Broncos' young players is real.
Hopefully, we will see these reports about Franklin and Vele continue throughout the remainder of the offseason practices and into training camp. If we can see a big jump from at least one of these players, the Broncos offense will quickly become one of the better offenses in the league.
