The 2024 NFL Draft class is chock-full of talented wide receivers, including Oregon wide receiver Troy Franklin. While Franklin won’t likely hear his name called as the first round of the draft gets underway on Thursday, the Oregon receiver is projected to be an early Day 2 selection.
Franklin spent three years as an Oregon Duck and had a breakout year in 2023, leading the team with 81 receptions for 1,383 yards and 14 touchdowns. Franklin earned first-team All-Pac 12 honors last season before declaring for the draft. He stands at 6-foot-2 and 176 pounds.
Troy Franklin: Scouting Report
Franklin’s size and speed, as well as his ability to create separation from defenders in the secondary, present plenty of potential for teams looking to add another weapon to their passing game. He might not ever be a team’s leading receiver, but he can be a consistent rotational target. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein breaks down Franklin’s strengths and weaknesses:
The puzzle pieces are fairly easy to put together when assessing who Franklin is and who he could be in the NFL. He’s a tall, linear receiver with good speed. He’s sudden enough to beat press but lacks the play strength to win combat catches and fight for operating space underneath. He has an innate talent for avoiding traffic and maintaining his distance from pursuit after the catch on crossing routes on all three levels. Franklin might not get WR1 target volume, but he should be productive with a high yards-per-catch average and the ability to open things up underneath for his teammates. Franklin could become a coveted complementary piece for an established WR1 or a productive vertical target for a team looking for instant help in the passing game.
Mock Draft landing spots
Field Yates has Franklin landing with the Cleveland Browns in the second round with the No. 54 overall pick. The Browns are looking for some younger, longer-term options as their receiver group’s contracts begin to expire. The Ravens and Panthers may also opt to take him in the second round as a key addition to a limited receiving depth chart, and the Chiefs could look his way as they aim to add receiving talent to a group that fell short at times in 2023.
Fantasy football implications
As a second-round selection, Franklin will likely be among the younger options in a wide receiver group that mixes veterans with rookies. His fantasy ceiling is not particularly high, though he may have a standout week or two in any of these landing spots. However, he will be sharing targets with the more experienced receivers, and given his weaknesses in coming down with contested balls, Franklin is projected to be a fairly average or slightly below-average fantasy earner in his rookie year.
Franklin is more of a potential stash in dynasty leagues in the second or third round of your draft. It also depends where he lands and if there’s a path to playing time as a rookie or in Year 2.