Broncos rookie progress report: Troy Franklin, Kris Abrams-Draine making noise (2024)

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Troy Franklin didn’t try to pretend like he wasn’t gassed.

During Broncos rookie minicamp in early May, the first-year wide receiver said he was still adjusting to Denver’s mile-high elevation. And he may have had a harder climb than most.

“I’m a California kid, so getting out here, it got me a little bit,” said Franklin, whose hometown of Atherton, Calif., resides just 59 feet above sea level. “The second day, though, it was a lot better.”

As the Broncos waded into their second week of training camp Monday with their first practice in pads, Franklin looked like a player starting to catch his breath. The fourth-round pick out of Oregon had arguably his best day of camp Saturday when he caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Zach Wilson up the sideline after beating veteran Tremon Smith in coverage. During the first team period Monday, he found space near the sideline and hauled in a 20-yard pass from Jarrett Stidham. Those splash plays came after he found his way open on deep routes earlier in camp, only to be barely overthrown by Bo Nix, his college teammate.

“You see speed, you see playmaking down the field,” coach Sean Payton said of Franklin. “There are certain routes that you see that are strong suits. I do feel good football IQ with that player, and that’s encouraging. He’s continuing to get stronger.”

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Those are small glimpses of the work Franklin is doing to contribute to a receiving corps that doesn’t have much known outside of the production expected from veterans Courtland Sutton and Josh Reynolds. There is a substantial uptick in physicality a receiver faces jumping from the Pac-12 Conference to the NFL. Franklin, at 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds, will have to show he can break free from press coverage and arrive at his spots on time in Payton’s timing-based offense. That physical maturation will come with time. In the meantime, the Broncos are focused on helping Franklin shrink the learning curve with the offense. It’s a challenge for many first-year wide receivers, Payton said, because players at the position are asked to retain more information about everything from alignment to route concepts.

“Depending on the offense he played in, oftentimes they played right and left. They just stayed to their side. Outside left, or outside right. In our league, most of the time they may be more outside, but they’re right and left,” Payton said. “(There is more) terminology. The diversity in the routes that they’re running, the library, is much bigger. So it is a position that I’ve seen make immediate impacts, and it’s a position that I’ve seen first-rounders (struggle) — we had Robert Meachem (in New Orleans). It took him a year or two, but then when he got it though, we were glad we had him. So I think it’s one of those positions, a lot of it depends on their college reps, and vocabulary and their offense in college. That can impact it quite a bit.”

Meacham had 12 catches for 289 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie with the Saints in 2008, then broke out with 45 receptions for 722 yards and nine touchdowns the following season. There could be a similar vision for Franklin, but the Broncos also aren’t putting a limit on what the 21-year-old might be able to bring as a rookie. One of the soundtracks of the offseason for the Broncos has been the spirited coaching Franklin has received from pass-game coordinator John Morton. Those interactions — after routes in individual drills or reps in team periods — have generally centered on the precise attention to detail required of the position in Denver’s offense. Morton, now in his third different stint working alongside Payton, has similarly pushed seventh-round rookie receiver DeVaughn Vele, whose consistent, sure-handed performances during the offseason program have thus far carried over to training camp.

“He stays on most of them,” Payton said. “He coaches them hard. He coaches them with love because he sees what they have. It’s Troy today, but he’s an equal-opportunity (coach). He’s teaching all the time. I’ve been with him a long time and I like hearing it. I like hearing it from a coach with passion because I think the players do as well. It’s when it gets quiet and no one’s talking to you is when you have to begin to worry.”

In that case, Franklin certainly doesn’t have to worry yet, especially if he can keep stringing together flashes like he’s shown the past two practices.

Here are a few other takeaways from the Broncos rookies through a week of practice:

Training camp leap for Abrams-Draine

The first padded practice was dominated by Denver’s new-look defensive line, which closed holes in the run game and generally created havoc.

Still, the best individual effort on a defensive play came in the passing game, from rookie cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine. The fifth-round pick out of Missouri matched Sutton stride for stride down the sideline during the final team period of the day. He timed his leap perfectly to knock Zach Wilson’s deep pass attempt away in front of the goal line, nearly intercepting it as he fell to the ground.

Abrams-Draine, competing for time in a cornerback group that includes other young players in Riley Moss, Damarri Mathis and others, has made a few splash plays since camp began last week.

“He’s a player that we’ve seen a noticeable jump in from the spring to when he returned (for training camp),” Payton said. “He’s playing a little more decisively, with a little more confidence, and that’s probably because he’s getting to know the system. It’s hard to play that way if you’re thinking and you don’t know exactly the assignment as well as you need to. He’s noticeably been more comfortable in his role right now.”

Nix’s running ability

Monday wasn’t a day to remember for rookie quarterback Bo Nix. It was his turn with the first-team offense, but his initial team period was soured by operational issues that forced Payton to whistle the offense back to the huddle. There was also a false start during that stretch, and the general sloppiness at the start seemed to impact Nix as he threw wide of running back Jaleel McLaughlin on a short out route.

Payton didn’t seem too concerned about the issues with the operation — those weren’t exclusive to Nix — saying they haven’t consistently been an issue the way they were at this time last year.

“I think it’s something that’s easily cleaned up,” Payton said.

Nix nonetheless produced an impressive highlight Monday. During the final team period, he felt pressure from the backside and decisively sprinted away and into a hole on the left side for what would have been a significant gain. Training camp is a time to scan progressions, experiment with throwing windows and generally work the pocket, but running will be a part of Nix’s game when he becomes Denver’s starting quarterback — whether that’s in Week 1 or sometime down the road. He rushed for 510 yards and 14 touchdowns during his first season at Oregon in 2022 and was rated as one of the nation’s top dual-threat quarterbacks when he entered college in 2019.

Payton is encouraging what he views as a mobile quarterback room to use that advantage, so long as the process behind the decision to run is sound.

“We’re looking to throw in the pocket, but we’re also looking to make smart decisions with the football,” Payton said. “All three of these guys have good mobility. The pocket in our league is not only clean, so when it gets dirty, at times, you have to be reactionary. Your teammates have to as well. (Nix) is being smart with the football, and it’s a strength of his.”

Estimé’s encouraging return

It was an encouraging sign when fifth-round rookie running back Audric Estimé wasn’t placed on the physically unable to perform list before camp after undergoing a minor knee scope procedure during OTAs. The even more promising sign? Estimé’s performance since training camp began.

There are important caveats to throw at any evaluation of the running back competition in camp. Most importantly, players at that position who are required to dole out — and absorb — punishment don’t do it to the same extent during these practices, even the padded ones. But even with that necessary context applied, Estimé has looked the part of a running back who can add some needed physicality to Denver’s running back room. His mere stature has made an impact.

“He’s a really, really talented player, he has great vision, and he has the biggest arms I think I’ve ever seen on a running back,” offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey said. “He runs hard.”

Eradicating the offense of negative plays has been a huge focus for the Broncos since the offseason began. They want to take fewer sacks, commit fewer penalties and avoid negative runs. When the Broncos dug into the numbers for Estimé last season at Notre Dame, the figures matched what they saw on tape. He simply didn’t go backward very often.

“Minus runs, (fewest) in his class,” Payton said. “Really good vision in the hole. Rarely did you see the player lose yards. He had good feet for someone who is 220 pounds. So I saw runner first, and (good) value on where we took him. He was one of those guys that, when the draft starts, every once in a while there’s a player you could say, ‘When this thing is all over with, I’d love to have this player.’ Fortunately, we were able to get this player.”

(Top photo of Troy Franklin: Isaiah J. Downing / USA Today)

Nick Kosmider is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Denver Broncos. He previously covered the Denver Nuggets for The Athletic after spending five years at the Denver Post, where he covered the city’s professional sports scene. His other stops include The Arizona Republic and MLB.com. Follow Nick on Twitter @NickKosmider