Troy Franklin is going back to school — symbolically, anyway.
As brought to light Wednesday by The DNVR's Zac Stevens, the second-year Denver Broncos wide receiver seemingly announced via social media that he's switched to jersey number 11 for the 2025 NFL season.
Franklin — who wore No. 16 as a rookie and No. 11 during his time at Oregon — becomes the 15th player in franchise history to rock those digits, which most fans probably remember belonging to former running back Bobby Anderson or return specialist Trindon Holliday.
A 2024 fourth-round draft pick, Franklin appeared in 16 games during his first season with the Broncos, catching 28-of-53 targets for 263 yards and two touchdowns across 386 offensive snaps. He also had a long scoring reception in Denver's Wild Card round loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Ahead of the upcoming NFL draft, Franklin is comfortably stationed behind Courtland Sutton and Marvin Mims on the WR depth chart, competing with fellow sophomore Devaughn Vele for looks in Denver's spread-the-ball offense.
“We see him as a ‘Z’ [receiver]," Broncos head coach Sean Payton said of Franklin at the Scouting Combine in February. "We move our guys around a bit, so it’s not exclusively. I thought he had a good rookie year. He’s sometimes in that same position where Mims is at, so we have two guys. We have certainly gotten faster because both of those guys can run. We saw that growth spurt with Marvin in Year 2, but I would say I was real pleased how he handled the totality of his rookie season. It can be difficult, and I see him in that role.”
