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If you wanted any indication about how expectations have shifted around the\u00a0Denver Broncos\u00a0in the last year, consider that the only conversations around the team right now seem to be negative ones on how bad their offense is.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s despite having an 8-2 record and being a pair of last second field goals away from being undefeated. That\u2019s despite being on a 7-game winning streak headed into a Week 11 home game against their AFC West Division rival\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs.<\/p>\n
All anybody wants to talk about, it seems, is how bad quarterback Bo Nix has been.\u00a0Which might be fair.<\/p>\n
Bleacher Report\u2019s Kristopher Knox\u00a0thinks Nix might get help in the form of second year wide receiver\u00a0Troy Franklin, who he tagged as the team\u2019s possible \u201cBreakout Star\u201d in the second half of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith 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\u2019s been no accident,\u201d Knox wrote on November 13. \u201cBo Nix\u2019s college teammate has been targeted a whopping 37 times in that four-game stretch. The Oregon product\u2019s target share isn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Franklin was a fourth round pick (No. 102 overall) in the\u00a02024 NFL draft\u00a0after putting up 81 receptions for 1,383 yards and 14 touchdowns catching passes from Nix at Oregon in 2023.<\/p>\n
That type of production didn\u2019t convey to his rookie year, when he had 28 receptions for 263 yards and 2 touchdowns in 16 games. He\u2019s already eclipsed\u00a0through 10 games in 2025\u00a0with 42 receptions for 425 yards and 5 touchdowns, leading the team in receptions and touchdown receptions.<\/p>\n
Franklin may have had extra motivation in his sophomore campaign after critics came hard for him in 2024, including Bleacher Report\u2019s Brent Sobleski putting him at No. 4 on his list of the\u00a0\u201cNFL\u2019s Worst Rookies\u201d at one point.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe logic seemed sound: The Denver Broncos paired their new franchise quarterback,\u00a0Bo Nix, with his favorite collegiate target, Troy Franklin,\u201d Sobleski wrote in October 2024. \u201cThey should hit it off, right? Well, the previous rapport hasn\u2019t translated so far.\u201d<\/p>\n
Franklin ended the season making NFL history with Nix in an AFC Wild Card Round loss to the\u00a0Buffalo Bills\u00a0on a 43-yard touchdown pass.<\/p>\n
\u201cINCREDIBLE, but true Bo Nix to\u00a0Troy Franklin\u00a0is the FIRST rookie to rookie TD in NFL PLAYOFF HISTORY,\u201d \u00a0NFL on CBS wrote on its official X account.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0Courtland Sutton.<\/p>\n
No one has to this point, although there\u2019s some who think Franklin\u2019s success as of late has come at the expensive of Sutton.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the Broncos continue to look under the hood of their lackluster passing offense, one thing needs an immediate change \u2026 Start featuring Courtland Sutton more,\u201d\u00a0Denver sports radio host Zach Bye\u00a0wrote on his official X account on November 10. \u201c<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n