Despite maintaining a seven game win streak and carrying the best record in the NFL, concern and panic have started to set in around the Denver Broncos. Amidst all of the question marks raised around this team in the last few weeks, the question has to be asked — why was Troy Franklin promoted to top wide receiver (WR1)?
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Recent Struggles
Bo Nix is currently manning a sputtering offense with a desperate need for change. With question marks looming large above Head Coach Sean Payton’s head, Denver amassed just 220 yards in Thursday’s contest against the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Texans, who have one of the premiere defenses in the league, also exposed the Broncos’ lackluster offense — allowing just seven points through the first three quarters of the game. Denver won both of these games, but they didn’t exactly look pretty while doing it.
The questions many are asking are: Are the Broncos pretenders, and is the defense merely smoke and mirrors to hide a weak offense? The real issue at hand, though, comes from within — replacing a proven veteran WR1 like Courtland Sutton with a second-year receiver who still has much to prove.
Change in WR1
As the past two weeks have come and gone more fans are noticing the lack of targets for Sutton. Nix’s seemingly favorite target is now stuck in the shadow of Troy Franklin, who has had a stand-out sophomore campaign. The Broncos needed change, sure, but changing the role of your best receiver is not the correct direction.
Last Sunday against Houston, Sutton had just one catch — a 30-yard touchdown pass that helped Denver emerge victorious. He only received six targets the eternity of the game, a showing of how important a guy like Sutton is to an offense. Franklin on the other hand, earned ten targets, only hauling in four and racking up a mere 27 yards.
Don’t get me wrong, Franklin’s short flashes of elite skill have been exciting to watch — but when you have a top-20 wide receiver in receiving yards, he needs to be given priority over a still-developing talent.
Last Thursday, Franklin was given similar treatment, earning nine targets and hauling in five. While he did have a decent showing, tallying the team’s lone touchdown in the process, Sutton received less than half of Franklin’s targets. Sutton only saw the ball coming his way four times — a staggering number for such a premier player.
Franklin Over Franchise
Like I previously stated, Franklin is an incredible player — in just his second year in the NFL, he’s almost cracking the top 40 in receiving yards. What he doesn’t have? Experience. Sutton has rightfully earned the WR1 spot, this being his eighth year with Denver.
Sutton has two 1,000 yard seasons under his belt, doing so playing through numerous different quarterbacks and systems. That alone should give a star like him priority in the offense, but even that isn’t enough.
Sutton has the 23rd most targets in the NFL this year — Franklin ranks 16th. Obviously Payton sees something in Franklin to have the confidence to go to him all the time, but giving him more targets than your franchise player is unheard of.
What Needs To Change
Change was needed, but this was the wrong move. While the Denver faithful hoped for new toys at the trade deadline, all they got was a role swap of a second-year talent and a veteran star.
The offense was rolling — Nix and company put up back to back 30 plus point weeks against the Cowboys and Giants. But since shifting Franklin to WR1, Denver has put up a measly 28 points in their last two contests.
While the Sutton-Franklin debate rages on, don’t forget that Denver is atop the NFL. This is a great Broncos team who will have their biggest test of the season against the Chiefs on Sunday.
Kansas City has been their kryptonite, and maybe the only way to steal a victory is by letting Sutton cook.
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