Profile
- School: Oregon.
- Year: Junior
- Position: Wide Receiver
- Height: 6 ft 2 in.
- Weight: 176 lbs
College Career
Franklin played in all three of his seasons at the University of Oregon. In his true freshman season, he had 18 catches for 209 yards.
In his sophomore year, Troy Franklin began his rise as a top wide receiver prospect for the 2024 draft class. He finished the season with 61 receptions, 891 yards, nine touchdowns, and 14.6 YPR; he came into his own as a productive wide receiver. Along with his elite speed, he also started to show improvements in his route running throughout his sophomore year.
In his junior year, Franklin solidified himself as a top wide receiver prospect in the 2024 draft class. He finished with 81 receptions and 1,383 yards. He averaged a tremendous 17.1 YPR in 2023. Franklin also showed that he is an end zone target with 14 receiving touchdowns, giving him 25 for his entire career at the University of Oregon.
Strengths
Speed
To say that Franklin has elite long speed would be a complete understatement. His overall game is built around his speed and ability to get downfield. He ran a 4.41 40-yard dash at the combine, which also translates well to his on-field performance. Franklin didn’t show a great short area burst, but he makes up for that on the back end of his routes. He also uses his speed in other aspects of his game.
Route Running
Franklin is an overall good route runner. He shows good skills at the top of his routes and has an expansive route tree. In quick-breaking routes, he uses his hips well to manipulate the defender. There are times when he rounds off his routes a little too much, but that can be worked on in the NFL. He has the twitchiness and strong moves for short routes but also has the long speed to win in medium and longer routes.
Separation
Franklin’s separation is one of the best things about his game so far. He uses his top-end speed in his lanky frame to get away from the defender. His quick movement back to the ball, especially on comeback routes, gives him the room and time to separate. He uses his long speed after his break to gain even more separation than he already had at the top of his break.
Weakness
Size
Franklin has desirable height at 6’2”; however, his weight is only 176 lbs, which was an issue throughout his college career. He lacks overall physicality, but that is due to his lack of size. In press coverage, he tends to lose the battle against defensive backs more than you would like to see from an elite receiver. If he can add a few more pounds to his frame, that would bode well for him being an even better prospect in this draft class.
Contested Catch
It’s kind of surprising that someone who is 6’2″ would have trouble at the contested catch. However, his overall frame is mainly to blame. Franklin will have an even harder time than he did at the University of Oregon due to the size and strength of defensive backs in the NFL. He won’t be a player who can go through the defender to catch the ball too often. This is one weakness of Franklin’s game that I’m afraid won’t be fixed when he gets to the NFL.
NFL Draft and Dynasty Outlook
Franklin is a very polarizing prospect in this year’s wide receiver class. In NFL mock drafts, we have seen Franklin go as high as the early 20s and as low as a second-round draft pick in the last month. With his elite speed, I don’t see him falling any further than very early in the second round, but he is more likely a backend first-round NFL draft pick.
For dynasty rookie drafts, he will be a mid-to-late first-round pick in 1QB leagues and a late first-round pick in Superflex leagues. His overall dynasty value is a very productive WR2 on your fantasy roster. He has the skills to give you WR1 weeks at times, which is a plus as a backend first-round fantasy draft pick.
