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Although I would be open to the idea of a trade involving the Broncos and a tight end, I think the team may already have their solution at wide receiver. Rookie wide receiver Troy Franklin of the Denver Broncos is making moves that could make him an NFL weapon in the near future.

Franklin appears to be finding some peace in the game, and he is reestablishing a positive rapport with Bo Nix. The Broncos’ coaching staff also appears to be coming around to the idea that Franklin can be an offensive weapon.

In the future, Franklin may prove to be the team’s second-best wide receiver. A few indicators leading in such way are these.

Quick tally
The number of receiving snaps per game has been affected by the injury to Josh Reynolds. Franklin has reaped the most benefits from Reynold’s absence. The increase in Franklin’s snaps per game began a few weeks prior to Reynolds’ injury.

Starting with 12 in Week 2, Franklin’s snap count increased to 17 in Week 3, and 19 in Week 4 for a three-game streak. There have been 37 and 33 snaps in Franklin during the last two weeks, respectively. He has played in more snaps than any other wide receiver on the team, second only to Courtland Sutton in terms of games played.

With Franklin’s recent production—31 yards and a touchdown against. the Chargers and five catches for 50 yards vs. the Saints—I anticipate this trend to persist.

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Ability to Separate
One of the big complaints for the Broncos this season is the wide receivers and tight ends not getting open and giving Nix an easy throw to keep the offense on time. I would push back against some of those critiques, as there have been quite a few plays where receivers are running open, but they’re missed for one reason or another.

One of Franklin’s best abilities, though, is his ability to get open early and stay open with his long speed throughout the route. A new statistic tracks how often a receiver can get open on plays when a team tries to entirely shut him down. This weeds out screens and long third downs where the defense is standing at the sticks and allowing passes underneath, etc.

Against the Saints, Franklin had seven such opportunities. He was able to get separation on all seven of those plays.

Only one other receiver in the NFL could accomplish that in Week 7. On a side note, seventh-round rookie Devaughn Vele was able to get separation on eight of his 10 opportunities, so there might be two Broncos rookies emerging in the second half of the season who could be on the plus side of production, helping the offense get on track.

Coverage Dictation
Franklin has the profile of a wide receiver who can dictate how teams run coverages, and that’s the final area we could see becoming a bigger deal over the next few weeks. He can win underneath, as he showed some this past week, but he also has the long speed to win over the top, making teams respect him with some extra help over the top.

As Franklin starts getting a little more attention, this should start giving Sutton and Vele more one-on-one opportunities to win in the short and intermediate. Most teams have not had much respect for the Broncos receivers outside of Sutton.

On obvious passing downs, opponents have been shadowing Sutton’s side of the field and daring any other Broncos receiver to beat them. That receiver could be Franklin, who makes some defenses pay, showing he’s now settling into this offense and is ready to be the playmaker the Broncos drafted him to be.

Many thought this year would be a redshirt type of season for Franklin, but if the Broncos are to be a serious contender, it will take someone like him or Vele proving to be that true second receiver who can make the big play when needed.