What would it take for Troy Franklin to become a usable fantasy bench receiver? Five targets with Denver's first-team offense. The Broncos can keep him on the field, send him deep and benefit from the space he creates, but Franklin still needs the ball to come his way before his speed becomes weekly volume.
FFN ranks Franklin WR54 in PPR as of August 26. Keep him outside the top-48 receiver tier until he clears that five-target line in an extended first-team appearance. Pass when the roster spot must produce early. He still fits managers who can wait through September, but the bench case depends on routine throws arriving before another long touchdown does.
More snaps need to produce ordinary throws
Franklin's late-2025 playing time looked like the beginning of a larger role. Over Denver's final five games, he played 44.0% of the offensive snaps and drew 4.0 targets a week. Then came the awkward part. His snap share rose to 48.0% during Denver's three-game finish, while his weekly target average fell to 3.3.
More field time gave Franklin more routes to run. It didn't make him a regular answer in the passing progression.
Week 18 against the Chargers put that tension on one line. Franklin played 25 offensive snaps and saw one target. Denver could use his speed to stretch the coverage without throwing him the ball, and the offense had no obligation to reward a route merely because it occupied a safety. That's useful NFL work. It's frustrating fantasy work.
The next step has to look ordinary. A quick out against off coverage matters. So does a comeback on an early down, or a throw that arrives because Franklin was the expected answer instead of the last option after the play broke down. Those completions keep a receiver involved when the deep ball isn't available.
One preseason bomb can prove the speed survived the offseason. It can't prove a weekly role.
Pat Bryant already has the steadier target history
Denver's depth chart places Franklin at WR3 and Pat Bryant at WR5, so this isn't a simple question of who stands higher on the page. Bryant finished 2025 with the more encouraging volume pattern. Thirty passes came his way over the final five games, and he logged 60.6% of the snaps. During the three-game finish, Bryant drew 5.7 looks a week with nearly the same playing time.
Denver's WR5, Bryant, also closed with five targets on 39 snaps in Week 18. Franklin had one target on 25 snaps in the same game. No single week settles a summer competition, but that one captured the difference fantasy managers need to respect. Bryant was getting the ball often enough for the role to matter. Franklin was still relying on the type of play that can disappear when protection fails or the coverage stays deep.
Marvin Mims adds another complication. He averaged 3.4 weekly targets with a 33.8% snap share over his five-game finish. That's modest work, yet it represents another receiver already taking part in the distribution. Denver doesn't have to remove Mims or Bryant from the plan to give Franklin a larger role. It does have to choose Franklin for throws those players could also handle.
This is why five targets matter. Franklin doesn't need to dominate every personnel grouping. He needs enough designed involvement to separate himself from a specialist rotation. Five opportunities won't guarantee a fantasy starter, but they would show the passing plan has room for him beyond coverage-clearing routes.
The positive path is available. Franklin is 23, already earned more late-season snaps and enters 2026 with two years of NFL experience. A young receiver can add the detail that turns a vertical threat into a player trusted on shorter timing routes. The summer question is whether Denver gives him those chances while its fifth receiver and Mims are also fighting for work.
Speed has to create more than deep shots
Franklin's usage still shows why the idea is tempting. His recent targets traveled 11.4 yards downfield on average, and defenders gave him 7.7 yards of cushion. He can threaten space quickly enough that a corner has to protect against getting beaten over the top.
Cushion should create accessible throws. Franklin can stop underneath it, work back to the ball or force a defender to turn his hips before breaking inside. The fantasy gain comes when Denver uses the fear of his speed to create completions, rather than treating the deep route itself as the entire assignment.
Courtland Sutton already gives the offense an established option on difficult boundary throws. Denver acquired Jaylen Waddle from Miami on March 18, adding another receiver who can win on quicker concepts and from different alignments. Franklin's best way into the weekly plan is to make one job his own and then prove he can handle a second. Stretching the coverage gets him dressed. Winning a normal throw on schedule keeps him in the progression.
FFN team-tendency data recorded Denver throwing on 63.3% of its offensive plays in 2025. Sean Payton and offensive coordinator Davis Webb have enough passing volume to test Franklin without stripping away the jobs that already work. Team volume gives him a fair chance to earn targets. It doesn't promise that Denver will call his number.
The five-target checkpoint
Use one number when Denver's first-team offense gets an extended preseason run: five targets. The line is high enough to require more than one specialty shot and low enough to appear without Franklin controlling the entire passing game. It asks the offense to return to him after the defense has seen his speed.
| What Shows Up | What It Means | Fantasy Response |
|---|---|---|
| Five varied first-team targets | Franklin has work beyond the vertical clear-out | Move him into the top-48 receiver discussion |
| Two routine early-series throws | The quarterback expects him to solve ordinary downs | Keep him as a patient bench target |
| Another one-target appearance | Snaps still aren't becoming usable volume | Leave him at WR54 or lower |
How those targets arrive matters. A deep attempt, an early-down comeback and a third-down route at the sticks would tell a better story than five manufactured touches against reserve defenders. The useful version shows that Franklin can solve different coverage pictures while the starting offense operates on schedule.
Clearing the checkpoint would make him a defensible bench pick for managers who already have stable starters. Falling short leaves him outside the top 48, where the roster should be built to wait. The call is tied to workload because his athletic case has never been hard to see.
We've all held the fast receiver whose best route helped somebody else get open. The bench spot pays only when the ball follows.
What would change the call
Franklin can satisfy the workload test in more than one way. Five targets in an extended first-team appearance is the direct route. Consistent work on third down would also matter because it would show trust when the throw has to move the chains. Two ordinary early-series targets from a standard receiver set could be useful, especially if one arrives underneath a corner protecting against the deep ball.
The risk is that Franklin stays around 40% to 50% of the snaps, produces an occasional long catch and remains behind Denver's WR5, Bryant, or Mims on the throws that sustain a drive. That job can create a few big fantasy weeks. It also creates too many Sundays with one or two opportunities to trust in a lineup.
A stronger summer from Bryant would tighten the squeeze further. His late-2025 volume already gives Denver a reason to keep testing him despite his WR5 depth listing. Franklin has to force the offense to choose his route before coverage demands it. Waiting for an injury to create empty snaps would be a weaker foundation than earning targets while the group is intact.
Franklin remains worth monitoring because the hard part, threatening a defense vertically, is already present. The missing part is much less glamorous. He has to become the receiver Denver uses for a six-yard completion when the offense needs six yards.
I won't move him inside the top 48 wide receivers for a highlight alone. Give me five targets with the first team, including at least one throw that keeps a drive alive, and the bench case changes. Until then, Bryant's steadier late-season involvement is stronger evidence, and Franklin's speed is a reason to watch rather than reach.
The first useful Franklin play this summer may be the one nobody clips: a routine throw, on time, followed by Denver calling his number again.
- FFN rankingsFFN's August 26 PPR rankings place Troy Franklin at WR54.
- player role trendsFranklin averaged 4.0 targets on a 44.0% snap share over Denver's final five 2025 games, then saw his targets fall as his snaps rose over the final three.
- player role trendsPat Bryant averaged 6.0 targets on a 60.6% snap share over his final five 2025 games.
- team tendenciesDenver threw on 63.3% of its 2025 offensive plays.
- transaction trackerDenver officially acquired Jaylen Waddle from Miami on March 18, 2026, adding competition at the top of the receiver group.
- depth chartDenver's depth chart places Troy Franklin at WR3, Marvin Mims at WR4 and Pat Bryant at WR5.