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Denver Broncos wide receiver Troy Franklin.
There’s all kinds of delusional when it comes to NFL players.
Where Denver Broncos wide receiver Troy Franklin falls on that spectrum of delusion is yet to be determined, but his comments during the days leading up to the Super Bowl have given us some insight.
Franklin, a 2024 fourth round pick, made a pretty significant leap in his second season in 2025 with 65 receptions for 709 yards and 6 touchdowns — more than double his 28 receptions for 263 yards and 1 touchdown as a rookie.
“I’m going to get a 1,000-yard season,” Franklin told The Denver Post on Thursday. “I’m going to double up the touchdowns. And receptions, I need to probably get about 80 or 100.”
It’s hard not to fall in love with Franklin’s confidence/delusion. He also said he’s looking to put on about 10 pounds of much-needed muscle — 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds is too light to be a dominant NFL wide receiver.
Still, there’s much for Franklin to overcome if wants to tap into an NFL All-Pro or Pro Bowl level.
Broncos Fired OC, WR Coach After AFC Title Game
Franklin and the rest of the wide receivers didn’t receive much of a vote of confidence following a snow-filled, 10-7 home loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.
After a few days of complaining about everything from dropped passes to how his receivers catch the ball (“put your thumbs together”), head coach Sean Payton fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and wide receivers coach Keary Colbert.
Franklin was one of the main culprits when it came to dropped passes — he and teammate Courtland Sutton finished tied for second in the NFL with 8 dropped passes each.
There’s also the matter of durability. Franklin went into the Witness Protection Program down the stretch, and in the final 4 games of the year — 2 regular-season games and 2 playoff games — Franklin had 4 receptions for 17 yards and no touchdowns. He didn’t even play against the Patriots with a hamstring injury.
If Franklin truly wants to be an elite wide receiver, he’ll have to find a way to make sure he’s playing in the most important games of the year.
Broncos Likely to Upgrade at Wide Receiver
For all of Franklin’s talk, there’s also a good chance he could either be collateral damage in a trade for an actually elite wide receiver or could face stiff competition from a high-profile free agent.
With 2 years left on his 4-year, $4.87 million contract, Franklin put up numbers that NFL teams are typically willing to pay in the range of $10 million per season for. That could make him very attractive in a trade package for someone like Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown or Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens.
The most likely scenario is Franklin and Sutton are both still on the roster when the Broncos bring in an elite free agent like Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans or Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce — or both — and Franklin finds himself in the fight of his life for playing time.
“The Broncos cannot afford to go bargain-bin shopping for wide receivers this offseason,” Predominantly Orange’s Sayre Bedinger wrote on X. “They cannot have another offseason of ‘almost’ moves or finishing 2nd in the bidding for their top target. And they don’t just need one, either.”
Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame
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