
Broncos 2nd-year WR impressing at training camp
Franklin (6-2, 180 pounds) played with quarterback Bo Nix at Oregon, but that existing chemistry did not immediately translate to big results in the NFL. After being picked in the fourth round of last year's draft, Franklin hauled in 28 catches for 263 yards and two touchdowns last fall.
Now, with a year of experience under his belt, Franklin is ready to take the next step.
'I think he's confident," Nix said. "I think he's — along with a lot of those guys -- we have a lot of younger receivers that are on their first, second, third year, and they look good this year. They look confident. A couple of them have had a few years now in the system. For a guy like Troy Franklin, he's not thinking as much anymore. He's like me. When you go through the first year, you just get kind of drowned in install, and new technique, new fundamentals, new coaches telling you different things. It can be really hard, and it can be challenging. It's not as easy as just going out there and getting open most of the time, which is what his natural gift is.
"Now I feel like he can take what he knows, and he can go out there and naturally get open. I'm getting a little bit more of, 'Hey, I'm open. Throw me the ball,' and that's usually a good thing from guys like that who don't usually do that. I know he's confident right now, and he's practiced really well so far. I'm just excited to see him back doing what he does. I think the transition to 11 from 16 is good for him. It looks better. I think he's just more natural and he feels comfortable. He's a lot more confident, and that's just what usually happens from Year 1 to Year 2.'
Franklin, 22, has impressed through the first two weeks of training camp, and the team has been moving him around.
'He's having a good camp," coach Sean Payton said. "I think he's so much more versed in the system, the routes, he's playing 'Z,' but he's also playing slot. So he's working at two spots, and then I would say, his speed and you see his speed and runaway that you began to see, even in the Buffalo game in the playoffs, at Cincinnati, he can stretch the field, Marvin [Mims] can stretch the field.
"So some of the receivers are working one spot, and there's a handful. [Devaughn] Vele working 'X' to sub, Troy's working 'Z' to sub. [Michael] Bandy can play inside. He could play all the spots, but his best spot is inside. So it's really trying to take the strengths of these players. But to your question, all the nuances coming from Oregon, where it's double, it's trips, there's so many different splits information that he is a lot further along on.'
If Franklin ends up playing primarily in the slot, his main competition for snaps will be Marvin Mims, a do-everything weapon with two All-Pro selections and a pair of Pro Bowl nods as a returner on his resume.
'Troy has grown a lot, and it's really cool to see it," Mims said. "Last year, we had some different things going on and a lot of different people moving different places. Him getting an opportunity was huge for him and just the confidence he started with last year and was able to grow in expecting to know what we need out of him this year. His growth — you guys have seen it — has been tremendous out here on the field.'
Nix seemed to imply that Franklin was swamped last season, and that impacted the WR's performance. Now that he has everyone down, Franklin can focus on simply making plays.
'They have a good feel for each other," Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said of Franklin and Nix. "Experience with a receiver really helps as a quarterback, knowing where they're going to be. That's really paid off. As he's learned the offense, he's able to play naturally and that's what Bo's used to.'
Franklin will get his first in-game opportunity to demonstrate his progress when Denver faces the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1 of preseason on Saturday evening (view the full preseason schedule).
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