Broncos head coach Sean Payton said recently that the team is capable of winning a Super Bowl and their chances of pulling that off will be better if some players take big strides from where they were last season.
During the offseason, Payton identified 2024 fourth-round pick Troy Franklin as a player who could break out like that and the wide receiver has done nothing to dim those hopes this month. Franklin had three catches in the team’s first preseason game and added four catches for 67 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s win over the Cardinals.
“It’s happening, and I’m excited,” Payton said, via the team’s website. “I think we’ve just got to be smart because he’s playing two spots, but he’s . . . had a really good camp. He’s confident. I’ve said this a bunch of times; it has to happen on the field, and you guys that have covered this team or any other team, you see it in the preseason every year. Some players begin to make some plays, and it carries over. So, that’s why these games are important. Obviously, it’s challenging when you’re not going to play your starting group, but when you see growth like that, and every year we don’t know who those players are going to be, but he played well tonight.”
Franklin had 28 catches for 263 yards and two touchdowns in the regular season last year and caught a 43-yard touchdown from Oregon teammate Bo Nix to give the Broncos a brief lead in their playoff loss to the Bills. If he can keep producing into the fall, Franklin should find opportunities to build on that start during his second season.
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