Glimpses of Troy Franklin's arrival for the Broncos were fleeting during his rookie season.
On Saturday against the Cardinals, he put his potential Year 2 jump on full display, tying Pat Bryant for a team-high four receptions and converting them into 67 yards and two touchdowns.
"It's happening, and I'm excited," Payton said of Franklin ascending to another level, per team transcript. "I think we've just got to be smart because he's playing two spots, but he's ... had a really good camp. He's confident. I've said this a bunch of times; it has to happen on the field, and you guys that have covered this team or any other team, you see it in the preseason every year. Some players begin to make some plays, and it carries over.
"So, that's why these games are important. Obviously, it's challenging when you're not going to play your starting group, but when you see growth like that, and every year we don't know who those players are going to be, but he played well tonight."
With Bo Nix taking a seat, Franklin did all his damage running routes for Jarrett Stidham, who also had himself a nice outing with 240 yards and two touchdowns on 16-of-23 passing.
The 22-year-old wide receiver scored with his first entry on the stat sheet, coming free down the sideline as Stidham dropped a pass between two defenders for a 27-yard connection. During the two-minute drill outside halftime, Franklin found space to get Denver moving with a 16-yard catch, then ended the 88-yard drive with the highlight of the night -- a contested, back-shoulder snag Arizona cornerback Denzel Burke was helpless to prevent.
The two end zone trips matched Franklin's total from 2024, a season in which he reeled in 28 passes for 263 yards.
More importantly, Franklin flashed another aspect to his game by coming down with the 50-50 throw. He proved himself a speedster as a rookie, but tough catches such as the one on his second score are necessary for both Franklin and Denver's offense to build upon last year.
"I think I'm just more comfortable," Franklin said when asked what's changed for him since then. "I've got a little bit more freedom to go out there and just play."
While Courtland Sutton is obviously leading the way in the WR room, Denver has more of an ensemble behind him. Devaughn Vele was second among wideouts last season with 41 catches, while Marvin Mims Jr. trailed only Sutton with six TD catches. There's also a role for Bryant to fill if he proves capable, but a path is open for Franklin to build on his strong August and contribute to a much higher degree or even emerge as a certified No. 2.
That will be his goal moving forward, and, just like his coach, his teammates believe he's ready to make a leap.
"It's hard to put into words, because he has grown so much since last year," Stidham said of Franklin. "And you can tell, he's playing with so much confidence right now. I think he's going to help our offense in a really big way, and I know the guys in our [quarterback] room, we're really excited about that and we're looking forward to it."
