In recent NFL history, there have been no good outcomes from . Since 2017, the New York Giants have been wholly unable to shake the curse of an infamous image of receiver . Beckham, himself, .
But a few days after the Broncos’ summer minicamp ended last week, quarterbacks Bo Nix and Sam Ehlinger organized a throwing session in Austin, Texas, with a handful of skill players. Ehlinger, an Austin native who is the “sheriff over there,” as receiver Troy Franklin put it, organized a few additional activities. And thus, a few key Broncos — from receivers Courtland Sutton, Franklin and Pat Bryant to tight end Evan Engram — found themselves posing for a photo on a boat with Nix and Ehlinger, that such a picture .
This is cool:
A number of Broncos, including Bo Nix, Courtland Sutton, Evan Engram, Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant and RJ Harvey, spent the weekend together.
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR)
One key new face was missing. Star receiver Jaylen Waddle, of course, will have a massive impact on Denver’s ability to avoid a post-boat slump — like those Giants of yesteryear.
But the photo, too, was a reminder of the holdovers who still need to grow in 2026 for the Broncos to truly bloom as Super Bowl hopefuls. Chief among them is the 23-year-old Franklin, throwing up a peace sign on that Austin boat.
“He’s a guy who’s coming in who’s a first-rounder,” Franklin told The Post Tuesday at his youth football camp hosted at Englewood High. “We traded high value for (Waddle), and he’s gonna get his touches, you know?
“But I think the same thing to where we’re not just going to be predictable … ‘Oh, yeah, we’re giving 17 the ball every play,'” Franklin said, referencing Waddle’s number. “Itap just one of those deals where I think we just always gotta be ready.”
Franklin, Denver’s 2024 fourth-round pick, stands to be impacted as much as anyone on the roster with Waddle’s arrival. Just four months ago, Franklin told The Post he was aiming for a 1,000-yard season in 2026. Any path there has become improbable with the Broncos’ trade for Waddle, a 27-year-old burner who has gone over 1,000 yards in three of five NFL seasons.
On Tuesday, Franklin was asked his immediate reaction to the Waddle trade: Did he think more on his own decreased targets, or on easier looks opening up for him?
“Obviously, I think it’s a bit of both,” Franklin told The Post. “You got a guy coming in like that — obviously he’s getting paid more than me, or whatever the case is,” he said. “I feel like thatap the thought any receiver has when they get somebody coming into the receiver room, you know?
“But I know me, personally, I’m always up for a challenge, competition. I think I’m hyper-competitive. I know what I can do out there, man. Especially just building off of last year. And I’m just building now, with him there. Trying to figure out my role in the offense now, and all that good stuff. And itap been going good, man.”
Franklin’s mental focus in offseason training, he told The Post, has been working with receivers coach Drew Lieberman in Atlanta to “attack, and kill.” It is a broad concept, with specific applications to a promising mixed bag of a 2025 season. Franklin finished tied for 25th among all NFL receivers in catches last season; he also caught just 54% of his targets that didn’t come via a screen, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
Anything can happen, as Franklin pointed out. But it’s highly unlikely he sees the same total target volume in his third NFL season, given the presence of Waddle and Denver’s 2025 leading receiver Courtland Sutton. If his overall touches decrease, Franklin’s growth needs to come in his ability to make them count — finishing dead-last in catch rate among 29 NFL receivers with more than 25 targets on vertical routes last year.
And Franklin is well aware, himself, that he may have to trade volume for efficiency in 2026.
“I just gotta go out there and be consistent and make plays when the ball comes my way,” Franklin said. “And to be real – say I do get like, what, two to three targets a game? If I make a play each target the whole season, nobody’s going to say anything.”
