Struggling Broncos receiver takes drastic action to recapture old magic

The Denver Broncos traded up to get Troy Franklin in the 2024 NFL Draft, and for good reason. Franklin was one of the best big-play threats at the college level in 2023 and the team apparently had a second-round grade on him coming out of Oregon.

Sean Payton said that the only reason the Broncos didn't take Franklin with their 3rd-round pick last year was because they had Jonah Elliss graded so high on their board as well. Payton was up all night before Day 3 of the NFL Draft plotting a move up the board to reunite Franklin with the team's first-round pick, his college teammate Bo Nix.

Although everyone dreamed of the Nix and Franklin connection bearing much fruit in their first year together in the NFL, it didn't happen. In fact, the two were very oddly not on the same page basically from the very start. Their timing was off, especially on deep passes, and when the ball did get to Franklin, he struggled with drops.

We finally saw the deep ball connection from Nix to Franklin manifested by fans in the best possible moment: The opening drive of the team's triumphant return to the playoffs.

Unfortunately, Franklin's rookie year with the Broncos was enough of a struggle that it feels like more of a projection than anything to say he's going to be a pivotal part of the offense. But the team's actions so far in NFL Free Agency seem to back their belief in his development.

As far as Franklin's part, he's not taking any chances and is taking drastic measures to recapture that magic that he and Bo Nix had at Oregon. He's changed his jersey number from 16 back to his college number 11.

Broncos WR Troy Franklin switches to jersey number 11 before second season

As small of a detail as this may seem, you never know how much of an effect this type of thing has on a player. Some players will pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to get a specific number. Heck, some players will reach out to franchise legends to ask permission to wear a certain number...

Jersey numbers matter to the players tremendously, and obviously, the number 11 is meaningful to Troy Franklin.

He's got to do anything he possibly can to recapture the magic. Broncos fans have been joking around that Franklin will do anything besides hit the jugs machine to improve in 2025, but there's no doubt that Franklin is putting in the work to be better. Especially with the kind of faith the team is putting behind him, there's no way he can sit on his hands at any point this offseason.

This is a huge year for Franklin and he could possibly establish himself as one of the top three receivers in Denver for the foreseeable future.