If you wanted any indication about how expectations have shifted around the Denver Broncos in the last year, consider that the only conversations around the team right now seem to be negative ones on how bad their offense is.
That’s despite having an 8-2 record and being a pair of last second field goals away from being undefeated. That’s despite being on a 7-game winning streak headed into a Week 11 home game against their AFC West Division rival Kansas City Chiefs.
All anybody wants to talk about, it seems, is how bad quarterback Bo Nix has been. Which might be fair.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox thinks Nix might get help in the form of second year wide receiver Troy Franklin, who he tagged as the team’s possible “Breakout Star” in the second half of the season.
“With four touchdown receptions in his last four games, second-year Denver Broncos receiver Troy Franklin has already started to break out a bit, and it’s been no accident,” Knox wrote on November 13. “Bo Nix’s college teammate has been targeted a whopping 37 times in that four-game stretch. The Oregon product’s target share isn’t likely to dip over the second half of the season, and he could be the key to unlocking a Broncos offense that has been as inconsistent as any in the NFL this season.”
Rough Rookie Season for Former Oregon Star
Franklin was a fourth round pick (No. 102 overall) in the 2024 NFL draft after putting up 81 receptions for 1,383 yards and 14 touchdowns catching passes from Nix at Oregon in 2023.
That type of production didn’t convey to his rookie year, when he had 28 receptions for 263 yards and 2 touchdowns in 16 games. He’s already eclipsed through 10 games in 2025 with 42 receptions for 425 yards and 5 touchdowns, leading the team in receptions and touchdown receptions.
Franklin may have had extra motivation in his sophomore campaign after critics came hard for him in 2024, including Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski putting him at No. 4 on his list of the “NFL’s Worst Rookies” at one point.
“The logic seemed sound: The Denver Broncos paired their new franchise quarterback, Bo Nix, with his favorite collegiate target, Troy Franklin,” Sobleski wrote in October 2024. “They should hit it off, right? Well, the previous rapport hasn’t translated so far.”
Franklin ended the season making NFL history with Nix in an AFC Wild Card Round loss to the Buffalo Bills on a 43-yard touchdown pass.
“INCREDIBLE, but true Bo Nix to Troy Franklin is the FIRST rookie to rookie TD in NFL PLAYOFF HISTORY,” NFL on CBS wrote on its official X account.
Franklin Hasn’t Shown He’s Viable WR2 Yet
The Broncos have spent most of the last 2 seasons waiting for someone to step up and become a viable WR2 option behind $92 million Pro Bowler Courtland Sutton.
No one has to this point, although there’s some who think Franklin’s success as of late has come at the expensive of Sutton.
“As the Broncos continue to look under the hood of their lackluster passing offense, one thing needs an immediate change … Start featuring Courtland Sutton more,” Denver sports radio host Zach Bye wrote on his official X account on November 10. “Troy Franklin has 41 targets in the last 5 weeks. Courtland Sutton has 29 over that stretch … Go back to basics.”
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