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Aug 23, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) throws against New Orleans Saints safety Ugo Amadi (0) during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Broncos WR Troy Franklin Details How Bo Nix 'Makes Everything Mesh Better'

Originally posted on Denver Broncos on SI
By Chad Jensen | Last updated Aug 29, 2025 7:00 PM ET

Expectations around the Denver Broncos haven't been this high since the Peyton Manning years. Hot on the heels of a surprise 10-win playoff season, the Bo Nix-led Broncos are under a lot of scrutiny entering the 2025 season.

Some of that has to do with head coach Sean Payton hyping the Broncos up as a potential Super Bowl contender, as well as his assertion that Nix will become a "top four or five quarterback" over the next couple of years. Payton envisions "superstar(dom)" for Nix.

We've heard tell from Nix's teammates that there's something different about him entering Year 2. That began as soon as the cleats hit the grass at Broncos HQ for the offseason training program.

If there is something different about Nix, who would know better than Troy Franklin? After all, this will be the fourth straight year that Franklin has played with Nix, serving as his No. 1 college target at Oregon, and being drafted together by the Broncos in the same year.

“He’s just more vocal, more confident," Franklin said of Nix on Wednesday. "He’s talking to all the guys, making sure we’re comfortable and we know what we’re doing. It just makes everything mesh better.”

That confidence surely stems from Nix's knowledge of the system, as well as the rough-and-tumble experience he gleaned as a rookie starter last year. Nix became the first Broncos rookie quarterback to start the season-opener since John Elway in 1983.

In the same way that Broncos GM George Paton said that Franklin looks so different because he's doing less thinking, the same holds true for Nix. Franklin appears to be on an equally exciting ascent.

“The biggest thing with Troy is the confidence. He’s not thinking as much," Paton said on Thursday. "Last year, you could tell he was thinking, and now he’s playing fast, he’s playing urgent, the confidence, you see the big plays, the ball skills, the hands. So he’s just developing right in front of our eyes, and that’s a credit to him and the work that he’s put into it.”

The Magic Number

Together, Nix and Franklin are poised to help each other take a quantum leap forward in Year 2. Franklin is stronger, a tad bit heavier (added muscle), wiser from his NFL experience, and, oddly enough, more comfortable in his skin, thanks to getting his treasured jersey number back (No. 11), after rocking the No. 16 as a rookie.

“For sure. I’ve been in 11 my whole life," Franklin said. "16 was just a little different. It just didn’t fit me, but I’m glad to be back in 11 for sure.”

The Broncos felt comfortable trading Devaughn Vele, in part, due to Franklin's impressive emergence this summer. Franklin's performance in preseason Game 2 was certainly eye-opening, catching four passes for 67 yards and two touchdowns. Vele was traded four days later.

I've learned not to believe in coincidences in the NFL. Sure, the Broncos were also emboldened by the performance of two other newcomers this summer — veteran Trent Sherfield and rookie third-rounder Pat Bryant — but Franklin appears to be the one poised to step into Vele's shoes as a starter alongside Courtland Sutton and Marvin Mims Jr.

Building the Nest

It's going to be fun to see Nix and Franklin grow together in 2025 and beyond. Immediately upon drafting Nix, the Broncos began building the nest around him, first with the Franklin draft pick, and later with the free-agent additions of Pro Bowl tight end Evan Engram and Sherfield, as well as the drafting of Bryant.

Don't overlook the new blood in the Broncos' running back stable, either. Veteran J.K. Dobbins and second-rounder RJ Harvey have given new life to a Broncos' ground attack that was heretofore average to below-average.