Chiefs Draft: The team has met with Oregon WR Troy Franklin

When NBC’s Connor Rogers interviewed Oregon broad receiver Troy Franklin on the NFL Scouting Mix in Indianapolis, he requested Franklin which NFL quarterback he would most like to focus on him.

With out hesitation, Franklin named Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Then final week, AtoZ Sports activities’ Charles Goldman reported that the Chiefs met with Franklin on the Mix.

Now that the Chiefs have moved on from veteran wideout Marquez Valdes-Scantling, the crew wants a speedy receiver who can stack defenders and get downfield. That is proper up Franklin’s alley.

Background

Born in Palo Alto, California, Franklin performed highschool ball at Menlo-Atherton Excessive College in Atherton. 247 Sports gave Franklin a 4-star ranking, rating him because the 54th prospect and the third general broad receiver within the 2021 recruiting class, behind Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka and Louisville switch Ja’Corey Brooks.

Lengthy strider with good top-end pace, displaying burst on the line of scrimmage with fast get off, noted 247 Sports. Persevering with to turn into an entire route runner. Preliminary explosiveness at LOS makes him tough to cowl and as he’s continued to get stronger, has turn out to be robust to press. Pure pass-catcher who can stretch the sphere or take a brief go the gap. Additionally a talented return man. Tasks as a right away Energy 5 starter and future first or second spherical draft decide.

Quite a few Energy 5 faculties — together with Alabama, LSU, Texas and Washington — recruited Franklin closely earlier than he selected Oregon.

Movie Analysis

Let’s get the dangerous stuff out of the way in which. It’s not simply that Franklin is skinny. The issue is that we do not know the way a lot weight he can add to his body — regardless of the reward that Oregon’s head coach heaped upon Franklin for the hours of weight-room work he put in.

“The factor that I’m extra pleased with with Troy is what he’s completed to assist develop his physique,” head coach Dan Lanning mentioned. “His physique composition’s modified, he’s gotten larger… I feel that’s helped him be stronger and have higher play power.”

If that is true, it didn’t present up on the dimensions in Indianapolis. Popping out of highschool, Fraklin was listed at 6 toes 2 and 170 kilos. On the Mix, he weighed 176 kilos. He very effectively might be firmer — and in higher form than he was — however he’s not larger.

The opposite knock towards Franklin is that he drops too many passes. He dropped 9 passes in 2023 alone — together with this missed alternative to take it to the home for six.

You may not like this, both — however Franklin’s sport can remind you of Valdes-Scantling — a youthful, cheaper, higher model of the veteran wideout — however Valdes-Scantling nonetheless.

Attributable to his petite body, Franklin struggles with making contested catches. In 2023, PFF says Franklin caught simply 36.8% of contested catch alternatives.

So now, that’s out of the way in which. Let’s get to the great things.

For a man who makes his bread and butter at stretching the sphere and getting on high of defenders, Franklin is surprisingly good at working over the center of the sphere; he doesn’t present any hesitation when catching in site visitors. His routes have good spacing — and he appears to have a strong understanding of what the offense is attempting to do.

Franklin additionally has simple pace. His go off the road (and his lengthy pace) look easy — generally to the purpose that it looks as if he’s purposefully holding one thing again for the precise second. He has glorious physique management — and may gear down to come back again to the ball on a dime.

Franklin has glorious physique positioning, too. He maintains inside leverage on defenders in any respect three ranges of the sphere — and excels at conserving the play alive. Within the pink zone, he is aware of how you can discover the outlet within the protection and make himself out there to his quarterback.

How he suits with Kansas Metropolis

With Valdes-Scantling gone — and Kadarius Toney’s standing unknown — the Chiefs want a man who can get downfield and get open. Franklin can be a Day 1 starter in Kansas Metropolis — and would put Mahomes’ arm to the check.

There’s a good likelihood that Franklin will probably be gone by the point the Chiefs decide — but when he’s there, basic supervisor Brett Veach would doubtless soar on the likelihood so as to add one other explosive weapon to the Kansas Metropolis offense.