The Denver Broncos hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl 50, then immediately fell apart. Over the next seven seasons, the Broncos posted a 44-70 record (.386) and never ranked better than the 10th-worst scoring offense in the league.
In 2022, the Broncos scored just 16.9 points per game, fewest in the NFL. Offensive-minded coach Sean Payton was brought in the following offseason to resurrect the offense, and he immediately began to lift the Broncos out of the doldrums. In just his second season at the helm, Payton ended Denver’s eight-year playoff drought while leading the team to double-digit victories and the 10th-best scoring offense.
The Broncos offense finally found a spark with rookie quarterback Bo Nix, who compiled 3,775 passing yards with 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in his first NFL campaign. Denver will look to build upon those figures as Payton continues to construct the offense around Nix in 2025.
Troy Franklin is slipping down the Broncos’ depth chart
Broncos wide receiver Troy Franklin is among a handful of young skill position players that will need to make significant strides this offseason to retain a role on offense.
Franklin, a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, found himself buried on the depth chart in his rookie season. The Oregon product was sixth among all Broncos players in receptions (28) receiving yards (293), and he failed to log more than 50 receiving yards in a single game during the regular season.
Franklin found himself behind 2024 seventh-round pick Devaughn Vele on the depth chart, playing just 386 offensive snaps (37 percent) in comparison to Vele’s 447 offensive snaps (53 percent). Veteran wide receivers Courtland Sutton and Marvin Mims Jr. will return as the team’s top perimeter weapons with Vele in the slot, which leaves Vele to battle a few new additions for backup roles.
The Broncos signed wide receiver Trent Sherfield to a two-year contract in free agency and selected Illinois wide receiver Pat Bryant with the No. 74 overall pick in the third round. Bryant could push Franklin down to the team’s fifth wide receiver.
Payton compared some of Bryant’s traits to former All-Pro wide receiver Michael Thomas, per The Athletic. If the coaching staff has high hopes for the incoming rookie, Franklin could find himself as the team’s fifth wide receiver at the start of organized team activities.
Franklin does have the advantage of having an established connection with Nix, as they both played together at Oregon before being drafted by the Broncos. The 22-year-old wide receiver also ended the year on a high note. Franklin caught a 43-yard touchdown on the opening drive of his first playoff game. It proved to be Denver’s only score of the 31-7 loss against the Buffalo Bills, but Franklin finished with a career-high 54 receiving yards.