As the NFL continues to be on the prowl for explosive playmakers, Oregon’s Troy Franklin offers one of the most exciting scouting reports in the 2024 NFL Draft. Where does Franklin rank in this stacked wide receiver class, and what does he provide?
Troy Franklin Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’1 7/8″
- Weight: 183
- Length: 31 7/8″
- Wingspan: 77 1/4″
- Hand: 8 3/4″
- Position: Wide Receiver
- School: Oregon
- Current Year: Junior
The expectation has been that Franklin would be an early-round NFL Draft pick since he first came out of Menlo-Atherton High School as a high four-star recruit.
Franklin immediately showed promise in his first year with the Oregon Ducks. Then, as a true sophomore in 2022, he ascended to All-Pac-12 prominence, catching 61 passes for 891 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging almost 15 yards per catch.
Momma, there goes Troy Franklin again! pic.twitter.com/oQ6hF1WWPk
— College Football Network (@CFN365) October 22, 2022
In 2023, the Ducks took a trip to the Pac-12 title game, and Franklin was a driving force for the offense’s success. Once again catching passes from Bo Nix, Franklin hauled in 81 receptions for 1,383 yards and 14 scores, declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft after the season.
Franklin is a natural at the WR position, and — as evidenced by his 4.41-second 40-yard dash and 39″ vertical at the NFL Combine — he’s also a premier athlete. But projecting his composite profile to the professional level, what might his ceiling be?
Troy Franklin Scouting Report
Strengths
- Long-strider with exceptional vertical range and the frame to wall off defenders.
- Hyper-explosive athlete with instant acceleration and searing speed down the field.
- Has the raw speed to take short passes for chunks and house intermediate RAC throws.
- Fleet-footed, twitched-up short-area mover who can offset DBs with diamond releases.
- Has the hip fluidity and control to stack direction changes while keeping speed.
- Can use speed to throttle up, press vertically, then retract and swivel around at stems.
- Nuanced horizontal and vertical manipulator with lateral twitch, tempo, and sink.
- Can use jab-steps at short and intermediate stems, then bend and accelerate into space.
- Has shown he can use his speed to bait off-man and zone DBs into suboptimal leverage.
- Able to track and flow to passes with ease when working up seams on the vertical plane.
- Shows glimpses of elite catching instincts and body control extending past his frame.
- Can use length and contortion to snare high-difficulty throws with little time to react.
- Has great creativity in space and can use cuts and jab-steps to disrupt tackling angles.
- Able to step and squirm through arm tackles with his wiry frame and active feet.
- Long frame and willingness provide a baseline level of blocking utility in space.
Weaknesses
- Has a lighter frame and a leaner build and may be nearly maxed out with mass.
- Dealing with press coverage can impact his timing and coordination at the catch point.
- Leaner frame visibly impacts his play strength versus physicality in contested situations.
- At times, struggles greatly to maintain positioning and arm leverage on 50-50 plays.
- Doesn’t have elite hand strength and suffers drops at times on higher-difficulty catches.
- Brings hands too wide at times when meeting the ball late in reps, sourcing instability.
- At times, struggles to fully cushion low passes inside his torso, letting them slip through.
- Doesn’t have the elite play strength or coordination to make plays with DBs in his frame.
- With tall frame and midsection, doesn’t quite have elite hip sink on sharp route breaks.
- Doesn’t have the mass to absorb contact or break multiple tackles in succession.
- Has poor blocking technique and angle discipline and lacks control on the attack.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Franklin grades out as a top-50 prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft and a fringe top-10 player at his position. There are select limitations that may prevent him from being a bona fide WR1 at the NFL level, but in a movement-Z role, he can be an explosive offensive weapon.
At around 6’2″, 183 pounds, Franklin is a snappy, elastic long-strider with the speed and explosiveness to threaten defenses vertically. He can carve up seams and up the boundary, but he also has the lateral twitch and foot speed to offset DBs, the sink and flexibility to support a full route tree, and the agility and active feet to be a stubborn RAC threat.
With his frame and vertical ability, Franklin also brings some boons of a larger receiver. He’s flashed the ability to wall off smaller DBs with his frame, and his length gives him a wide catch radius. To that end, he has excellent body control and contortion ability, and he can snare throws past his frame.
For Franklin, inconsistencies that stem from his lack of play strength and below-average physicality throw his projection into question. He sometimes struggles to maintain positioning against physicality, and while he has exceptional body control, his hand-eye coordination can be easily obstructed by that same physicality.
Going further, slight inconsistencies in hand technique and timing make weathering catch-point physicality that much harder for Franklin, and while his crisp short-area quickness and release package can help against press coverage, he can be re-routed there as well.
Ultimately, with his lighter frame, Franklin may never supersede some of the issues on his scouting report. Still, in a movement-Z role where he can be schemed touches, separate at multiple levels, and use his speed to serve as a catalyst, he can be a high-end WR2 with quality starter upside — in a similar mold to Robbie “Chosen” Anderson.
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