The Denver Broncos are looking for someone other than Courtland Sutton to emerge at receiver , and it could be one of Bo Nix's favorite targets in college.
Last season, Troy Franklin played in 16 games for the Broncos, catching 28 passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns. The former 2024 fourth-round pick out of Oregon stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 180 pounds.
He makes up for it with a 4.41 40-yard dash, which is a big reason why The Athletic's Nick Kosmider sees him as a potential breakout candidate in year two.
"Evan Engram is going to open up a lot of possibilities for Denver’s offense," Kosmider wrote. "I think this will give Bo Nix more windows to get Franklin the ball in space, and there may not be anyone on Denver’s roster who can go from 0 to 60 quicker."
Franklin saw limited playing time last season, but his rapport with Nix is still there. His 9.3 yards per catch is not indicative of his capabilities. Kosmider says that Sean Payton's offense can be difficult to grasp for rookies, and he thinks Franklin is ready to emerge after working out the lumps.
"It was clear Franklin was thinking too much at times last season," Kosmider said. "If he’s more comfortable this year, and his spring provided promising glimpses that he is, his speed will be more impactful for the Broncos than it was able to be last year."
That is promising news for a team that could use an over-the-top threat to their passing attack. The Nix and Franklin duo is something to keep your eye on going forward.
Broncos Have the NFL's Best 'Gadget' Weapon in Marvin Mims Jr.
The Denver Broncos have talent at multiple positions, but do they have a luxury player? According to ESPN's Bill Barnwell, Marvin Mims Jr. is just that as a gadget wide receiver.
Mims has brought a lot of value to the Broncos as a special-teams player, as he's been an All-Pro returner in each of his first two seasons, but his play on offense hasn’t been that of a traditional wide receiver.
Barnwell recently highlighted the luxury players with various roles across the league, including sixth offensive linemen, blocking tight end, and gadget player, which is where he named Mims. As Barnwell notes, gadget players are not as prevalent as they once were, as teams are using their star players all over the field more frequently, like Justin Jefferson and CeeDee Lamb.
However, not all teams have that caliber of player, and even when they do, that player often doesn’t possess that kind of versatility. The Broncos are one of those teams.
“Thinking about the classic idea of an undersized gadget player who moves around the formation to thrive, catches all kinds of passes near the line of scrimmage and creates big plays with the ball in his hands, Mims comes to mind. Like many gadget players from years past, he adds value on special teams: He was the league's first-team All-Pro return man in 2024, averaging an NFL-best 15.7 yards per punt return," Barnwell wrote.
Gadget players are often explosive special teamers who teams are trying to find a way to utilize on offense to manufacture the same effect. When you add in the fact that these players are often undersized, Mims comes to mind. He's the epitome of a gadget player in today's NFL.
As a rookie, the Broncos struggled to find the best way to utilize Mims, but there were also some issues with his development on offense. On 384 total snaps on offense, 275 came playing as a boundary receiver.
Mims' effectiveness was questionable at best, as he struggled to make a consistent impact. However, Sean Payton and the Broncos found a way to mix things up in 2024, and Mims’ effectiveness grew exponentially.
One of the things that helped Mims and the Broncos was how they moved him around more often. While he played fewer total snaps on offense with 326 total, 175 of them came from in the slot, backfield, or considered in-line, compared to 161 on the boundary.
Barnwell notes how Mims' effectiveness on the boundary was still lacking compared to usage elsewhere.
“Mims averaged just 0.8 yards per route run on the outside last season, but that jumped to a whopping 5.5 yards per route run out of the slot and in the backfield, as he proved to be an interesting player when lined up next to Bo Nix," Barnwell wrote.
From Week 10 on, Mims was a playmaker for the Broncos' offense. He caught a long bomb touchdown against the Cleveland Browns and had two touchdown catches against the Cincinnati Bengals, though the Broncos went on to lose the latter game in overtime.
In those two games alone, Mims had 208 yards and three touchdowns on 11 catches on 12 targets. That was half his season's total touchdowns and 40% of his season's yardage, so the Broncos need to find a way to translate that impact more consistently throughout the season.
While playing 18 games, Mims has four games over 50 yards, two over 100, and at least one touchdown in four games. Even as a gadget player, you want more consistent production than that, but it's a good start. The Broncos took some time to figure out how best to utilize Mims, but now that they have, they can get a better start to the season.
