For the past two weeks, Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton has talked a lot about getting rookie wide receivers Troy Franklin and Devaughn Vele more involved in the offense. Quarterback Bo Nix, a rookie himself, has shown no reticence to target Franklin and Vele, especially the former — who happened to also be his No. 1 receiver at Oregon for two years.
On Thursday night, Broncos No. 1 receiver Courtland Sutton did not register an official target. Meanwhile, Franklin led the team in receiving with five catches (on six targets) for 50 yards as the Broncos trounced the New Orleans Saints 33-10.
In fact, since Payton has started emphasizing Franklin's name at the podium, it has directly corresponded to production on the field as he's led the team in targets over the past two weeks. In fact, Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke sees Franklin as a bonafide fantasy asset moving forward, and could envision the former Oregon Duck leading the Broncos in targets for the rest of the season.
"Over the last two weeks since Josh Reynolds landed on injured reserve, the Broncos have generally used Courtland Sutton, Franklin and Devaughn Vele on passing plays, while Sutton and Lil'Jordan Humphrey are used on run plays.
"During those two weeks, Franklin has led the team in targets (nine) and receptions (seven). Thursday night, he caught five receptions for 50 yards, leading the Broncos. While Sutton has constantly been on the field, he wasn’t targeted at all in this game. Franklin was the sixth-wide receiver on our big board between Brian Thomas Jr. and Ladd McConkey and now, he’s playing the number of snaps needed to be a fantasy starter. He’s worth a waiver-wire target because there’s a chance he will lead the Broncos in targets over the rest of the season," Jahnke wrote.
There is a chance Nix targets Franklin the most from here on out, but don't mistake one weird road game where the Broncos' run game suddenly started to fire on all cylinders, almost magically, as a harbinger of Sutton's future. Nix still looks his way as his security blanket, and in the red zone, especially. That's unlikely to change.
Sutton's going to get his, but with Reynolds on IR, it would seem that Franklin has been the Broncos receiver to fill the void. Vele has been productive when Nix looks his way and when the rookie wideout has been healthy, and his prototypical 6-foot-4 size counts for a lot in Payton's estimation, but Franklin's got some wiggle and twitch to him, and speed.
We'd be singing an even louder Franklin tune if he'd caught that deep touchdown pass from Nix against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5, instead of dropping it. Remember the infamous Nix-Payton sideline spectacle in the immediate aftermath?
Jahnke is right; Franklin is trending up in a big, bad way, and while people wring their hands (still) about Denver's purported lack of receiver talent, he and Vele could make them look like fools, myself included.
The Broncos offense has featured a painfully low-volume passing attack as Nix settles into what it means to operate against NFL speed and design. But knowing what we do about Nix's football IQ, talent, and the coaching wherewithal surrounding him, at some point in the near future, things could really click for him.
When that happens, all the Broncos' receivers will be beneficiaries. But moving forward, especially in the next three-game stretch, it'll be interesting to see whether Franklin continues to flower, along with Vele, giving the Broncos some significant receiving production, and fantasy owners some bragging rights.
