The Denver Broncos added wide receiver Jaylen Waddle in a March 2026 trade with the Miami Dolphins. The move created what appears to be a crowded wide receiver room heading into the 2026 NFL season.

Troy Franklin, coming off career highs of 65 receptions, 709 yards, and 6 touchdowns, has seemingly slid down the depth chart behind Courtland Sutton and Waddle. That makes him a logical sell-high trade candidate before Week 1. The truth is that moving Franklin now could be a mistake for Denver.

With training camps opening this week, Franklin’s role is genuinely unsettled. Marvin Mims Jr. is considered an ascending talent, and one the Broncos invested strong draft capital in. Second-year WR Pat Bryant was averaging 38 snaps per game late last season, with Franklin bleeding snaps down the stretch. Franklin also hasn’t played special teams, which makes him a bit of a one-trick pony.

However, a career-best season should carry more weight when evaluating trade decisions. As should his contract value and relationship with QB Bo Nix.

The chemistry question complicates Troy Franklin’s trade value

The big question surrounding Franklin is how much of his 2025 production represents real value as a receiver versus manufactured chemistry with quarterback Bo Nix. The two played together for two seasons at the University of Oregon and have a strong on-field connection. That ambiguity could really tank his value on the trade market.

If opposing front offices view Franklin’s numbers as a product of the college connection rather than individual talent, Denver won’t get an adequate return. And if the Broncos view his production as legitimate, why would they move him at a discount? Franklin finished second in Denver in receptions, targets, yards, and touchdowns in 2025, all behind Sutton. In 2024, he posted 28 catches for 263 yards and two touchdowns. Modest production for a rookie, yet nothing to dismiss either.

The low-risk case for the Denver Broncos keeping Troy Franklin

Franklin is under contract for two more years on a cheap rookie deal, with a 2027 contract year. Keeping him is a low-risk play for a team that already has him on the books.

Waddle has a pretty substantial injury history, having played a full 17-game season only once during his NFL career. In college, he missed 7 games with an ankle fracture and sprain. He missed two games in each of 2023 and 2024 with the Dolphins. A rib injury kept him out of one game last season.

Franklin might be fighting with Mims and Bryant just to be the No. 3 wide receiver on the depth chart. However, this 23-year-old could be the perfect insurance policy for Waddle in the event of an injury.

There’s also the human element. Nix might not feel great about the front office shipping off his college teammate. The front office would be weighing the value of a potential trade against a young quarterback’s relationship with his trusted college teammate.

This scenario rhymes with a recent Broncos decision

This particular situation echoes the Devaughn Vele scenario from a season ago. The Broncos had a surplus at wide receiver heading into the 2025 season and shipped Vele to the New Orleans Saints. It was the classic good-player, wrong-roster-fit type of trade, the kind that only makes sense when a team is deep enough to sell from strength.

Is Denver truly deep enough at the position to do this again? Sutton and Waddle provide a strong top two, but beyond that, the picture gets murkier. Mims is ascending, and Bryant has shown flashes. However, Franklin has already shown proven production.

Denver will likely wait on any trade decision until the 53-man roster cuts are made. The Broncos need to get through 2026 training camp and the preseason without any substantial injuries at wide receiver before they can feel comfortable and confident shipping off a young, productive player like Franklin.

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