Troy Franklin Scouting Report

By: Michael Higgins

(Image courtesy of Chris Pietsch/The Register)

School: Oregon

Class: Junior

Position: WR

HT: 6’3

WT: 187 lbs

Sideline Prospect Ranking: #33

Background: Troy Franklin was a top-100 player and considered a 5-star by some outlets in high school. Franklin is from Palo Alto, California, where he attended Menlo-Atherton High School. Troy was a top-10 wide receiver in the country and the 2nd ranked player in the state of California. Franklin finished his career with nearly 2,000 receiving yards and helped lead his team to a division title. It was apparent that Troy Franklin was going to stay west and play in the PAC 12 and Northern California has seemingly been a gold mine for Oregon. Franklin chose the Ducks over Utah, Oregon State, and Washington.

College: Franklin immediately got on the field for Oregon and made his presence felt as a complementary receiver in all 14 of the team’s games. Though he was limited, he still was able to tally over 200 receiving yards on the season. As a sophomore in 2022, Franklin had a breakout season. Franklin was named to the All-PAC 12 Second Team by both AP and the Coach’s Poll. Franklin finished the season with 891 yards, on a Ducks team that was focused on running the ball, which was good for 6th in the PAC 12. The Ducks have not had a WR1 to the caliber of Troy Franklin since the years of Darren Carrington.

Strengths: Troy Franklin is a receiver who provides a ton of length with a large catch radius. He has the ability to make spectacular catches in traffic, no ball thrown his way is uncatchable. He has sure hands and looks the ball all the way through on a consistent basis. After the catch, Franklin is able to make defenders miss with speed and above average acceleration. Franklin is a solid route runner with crisp cuts and no wasted movements. He has top speeds that leave defensive backs multiple strides behind him down the field. His ability to stretch the field can completely change the way a defense has to play as a whole. Consistent Cover 2 and tight man coverages simply won’t work with Franklin on the field. Franklin is a big play machine, turn on the tape and he is good for at least two big catches per game. He is truly a threat from all three areas of the field due to his deep catch ability and his catch-and-run ability. Franklin’s elusiveness in the open field makes him hard to track with the ball in his hands. Troy is also just as much of a threat between the hash marks as he is outside the numbers.

Weaknesses: Most of Troy Franklin’s negatives come from his lean frame. He is not an effective run blocker on the outside and tends to get pushed around. He cannot be relied upon to create a lane for the running back on the outside. He is forced to make so many spectacular catches due to the fact that defensive backs tend to bully him and stick to his hip. If he can add a bit more muscle to create separation at the catch point, he will have easier opportunities to make plays.

Conclusion: Troy Franklin is a deep level threat with elite speed and separation abilities. He is a high ceiling athlete who can help to elevate the entire offense around him.

Scheme Fit: West Coast Offense

Ideal Role: X Receiver

Best Team Fits: BUF, CAR, IND

Player Comparison: Devonta Smith

Player Grade: 86.0