Troy

Franklin

Franklin was limited in practice all week and questionable after injuring his hamstring in last week’s Divisional Round win over the Bills. The second-year receiver hasn’t seen many targets when active as of late, and the return of Pat Bryant gives the Broncos another weapon in the passing game. In addition to Franklin the Broncos also declared S JL Skinner, LB Karene Reid, C Alex Forsyth, WR Michael Bandy, DL Jordan Jackson, and DE Sai’vion Jones inactive for Sunday’s game.

Franklin logged three straight limited sessions this week. It is tough to say whether he will be active against the Patriots. He departed early last week. Over his last two games, he has earned just one target. Even if he is active, he is unlikely to operate as a featured player.

Franklin has a chance to play this week, but hamstring injuries can be finicky. The young wide receiver was forced from last week’s Divisional Round win over the Bills after suffering the injury in-game. He earned zero targets before departing.

Franklin’s early-week participation is somewhat surprising. He was forced from the Broncos’ Divisional Round game against the Bills on Saturday. We expect to see him listed as a limited participant, but he has a chance to play in the Broncos’ AFC Championship Game against the Patriots.

Franklin didn’t have a single target in the game before leaving with his injury. The Broncos are also without Pat Bryant (concussion), so they will need to rely far more on Marvin Mims Jr. and Lil’Jordan Humphrey.

Bo Nix locked onto Courtland Sutton in this game, peppering his No. 1 receiver with 10 targets. No other player on the team saw more than six looks, and five pass-catchers were stuck between four and six targets. Even with Pat Bryant out this week, Franklin couldn’t reclaim the WR2 role he held earlier in the year. Marvin Mims and Lil’Jordan Humphrey both ran more routes than Franklin. That alone will keep Franklin buried in the WR6 ranks for a Week 18 date with the Chargers.

Franklin functioned as the Broncos’ WR2 behind Courtland Sutton despite Pat Bryant returning to the lineup after a Week 15 hamstring injury. (Bryant would be carted off the field in the fourth quarter with a neck injury.) Franklin saw 65 air yards on the day, a distant second to Sutton’s 223 air yards. Franklin ran a route on 37 of Bo Nix’s 51 drop backs and came down with one of Nix’s two downfield completions. Franklin will be an interesting if volatile WR3/4 play in Week 17 against the Chiefs if Bryant is sidelined.

Franklin’s six targets were tied for second-most on the Broncos on Sunday. The former Oregon product was robbed of a touchdown in the second quarter when officials incorrectly blew the play dead after it was shown on a replay that his knee never hit the ground, but Franklin later found pay dirt on a 23-yard strike in the third quarter to make up for it. Sunday marked Franklin’s most productive fantasy outing since Week 8, when he went for 6-89-2. He’s seen six or more targets in four of his last five games, but Franklin can’t be trusted as anything more than a FLEX play in Week 16 against the Jaguatrs.

Payton added that if this were a playoff game, Payton would probably be playing. But this is management with the hope of getting things in shape for Bryant down the line. Marvin Mims will find more snaps in Week 15 and both Troy Franklin and Courtland Sutton should get a slight workload upgrade.

Franklin had a forgettable Week 14 showing. He may have banged the left side of his hip while being leveled by Raiders S Isaiah Pola-Mao on a downfield incompletion, but Franklin returned after a play or two. Franklin’s most consequential play occurred on the Broncos’ third drive, when he bobbled a reception on 4th-and-3. He initially met the ball while in first-down territory but was knocked backward as he was securing the catch and the officials ultimately ruled him down behind the first-down marker. Franklin has 32 yards over the last two weeks and is a risky FLEX against the Packers in Week 15.