Know your Chiefs draft crush, part 6: Troy Franklin
Looking at a speedy WR that no one can seem to agree on
In this year’s “know your draft crush” series, I’m once again examining various wide receivers the Chiefs could target in early rounds of the draft. Fortunately, the 2024 draft is packed with good WR prospects. In an attempt to figure out who would be the best fit in Kansas City, I’m looking at as many as possible, breaking down the film to look at the same traits for each player: Speed/acceleration/agility, releases, route running, hands/catch point work, YAC/playmaking, and an overall takeaway. Here are the guys we’ve looked at so far:
Methodology and Adonai Mitchell (UNLOCKED)
Whatever you think of Oregon wide receiver Troy Franklin might depend on who you trust most for your draft content.
Franklin is one of the more controversial receivers in the upcoming draft, with a pretty wide variety of opinions as to how well his game will translate to the next level. A relatively lackluster combine (compared to what expectations were, and as a few other receivers blew up the dang thing) didn’t help matters. Some people say he’s a surefire first rounder who can help teams immediately. Others say he’s not worthy of a first or even second round pick with size concerns and issues as to handling the physicality of the league.
So which is it? Well, that’s what this series is for! So let’s dive into the film of Franklin, the last of the WRs on our list who is considered likely to be grabbed in the first round (you know someone is going to be a surprise first rounder, though).
In case you don’t recall, here’s the list of receivers I’m HOPING on being able to sift through before the draft. I’ve crossed out the ones we’ve done (including Franklin). As you can see, I’ve got a lot of work to do.
Brian Thomas Jr, Ladd McConkey, Troy Franklin, Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, Keon Coleman, Xavier Legette, Ja’Lynn Polk, Javon Baker, Malik Washington, Ricky Pearsall, Roman Wilson, Devontez Walker, Jalen McMillan, Malachi Corley, Jarami Thrash, Jermaine Burton, and Brenden Rice
Let’s talk Franklin’s film, where he wins/loses, and how he could fit with the Chiefs.
Troy Franklin - Oregon
Relevant measurements - 6’1”, 176 pounds
Games reviewed - Utah, Washington State, Oregon State, Texas Tech, Georgia (2022)
(NOTE - Most of the video clips I’ll use will be to highlight positive traits, because they’re more fun to watch. But that doesn’t make the negative traits for a prospect any less real… it just means I like to show the fun things!)
-Speed / acceleration / agility-
Franklin’s disappointing combine numbers shouldn’t distract from the fact that, on film and in pads, he’s a good athlete. There are plenty examples on film of Franklin very quickly stacking cornerbacks and outrunning them down the field for a big play.
Franklin’s speed doesn’t quite “pop” the same way that Thomas or Worthy’s speed does, but it’s more than sufficient to make him a legitimate threat down the field. Because he’s good at getting himself a little space from defenders with quick horizontal movement (we’ll get to that shortly in the “release” section), he’s able to get even and has a natural fluidity to stack defenders and stay in front of them, buying space with each step. It does have to be noted, though, that he’s got “decent” deep speed, not elite.
Franklin’s quickness is more high-level than his speed, and that’s where he’s able to do more of his damage in terms of creating separation. As I said before, he’s very light on his feet and has the ability to start/stop in a moment as well as change direction. This allows him to buy separation quickly at shallow and intermediate levels of the field when he stays clean off the line.