Patriots draft profile: Troy Franklin could be the speedster the offense needs

Franklin could add some serious juice to New England’s offense.

Wide receiver has been an area of weakness for New England for a number of years now, and addressing that is going to be one of the top goals for Eliot Wolf and a reshuffled Patriots front office in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Oregon product Troy Franklin could be a top option for New England on Day 2 with his deep speed and explosive production. But will the Patriots be interested in a receiver with his frame?

Hard facts

Name: Troy Franklin

Position: Wide receiver

School: Oregon

Opening day age: 21 (2/6/2003)

Measurements: 6’1 7/8”, 176 lbs, 31 7/8” arm length, 8 3/4” hand size, 4.41s 40-yard dash, 39” vertical jump, 10’4” broad jump, 4.31s shuttle, 6.9s 3-cone, 9.00 Relative Athletic Score

Experience

Career statistics: 40 games (26 starts) | 1,758 offensive snaps, 92 special teams snaps | 229 targets, 160 catches (69.9%), 12,483 yards, 25 TDs

Accolades: All-Pac-12 first team (2023), All-America second team (2023), Biletnikoff Award semifinalist (2023), All-Pac-12 second team (2022)

Troy Franklin committed to Oregon out of Menlo-Atherton High School in the class of 2021 as the No. 3 wide receiver prospect in the country. His freshman year, he 209 yards on 18 catches with a pair of scores.

Franklin became a full-time starter at Oregon as a sophomore in 2022, starting all 13 games and hauling in 61 receptions for 891 yards, 9 for touchdowns. That included a 2-touchdown performance against UCLA in which he racked up 132 yards on 8 catches.

As a junior, Franklin continued to ascend. His 1,383 receiving yards were the sixth best in the nation, and his 14 receiving touchdowns tied Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers for third in the country. He did that on 81 receptions, averaging 17.1 yards per catch.

Draft profile

Expected round: 2 | Consensus big board: No. 38 | Patriots meeting: N/A

Strengths: Franklin will stand out most for his speed and ability to threaten defenses down the field, but don’t let that take away from his route running. He’s a savvy route runner with a variety of releases against press coverage who is good at using his leverage and using his routes to pick defenders to help his teammates.

Franklin will stack defenders off the line of scrimmage, and he has the ability to tempo his routes properly to create separation.

Oregon runs a lot of quick hitters and underneath routes, and Franklin is good at finding space and getting there on time. His lateral agility shows up on these plays where he can make defenders miss before or after the catch.

As a deep threat, Franklin excels at tracking the ball and can punish defenses with long touchdown catches.

Troy Franklin has above average height and wingspan, explosive 4.41 speed, and tested above average in the broad jump, vertical jump, and 3-cone drill.

Weaknesses: Franklin has a small frame with small hands. He weighed in at 176 pounds with 8 3/4-inch hands, good for 5th and 9th percentiles, respectively. Both show up on tape.

When Franklin can’t separate from defenders early, they can really slow him down by getting their hands on him. He isn’t the strongest at the catch point, and he also suffers as a blocker at times.

He also had a 10 percent drop rate in 2023 with 9 drops on 114 targets. You could pretty much count on him for a drop per game last season, a significant drop-off from his 2-drop performance in 2022. This mostly results from technique issues with Franklin using his body instead of his hands to make catches. Franklin has also caught a little over a third of his contested catch opportunities for his career, which matched his 2023 total of 36.8 percent.

Patriots preview

What would be his role? Troy Franklin would be an outside receiver for the Patriots who could kick into the slot as well. He’s good enough against press coverage to align at X, but he can also be used in motion or in the slot to get him away from press and allow him to use his speed a little more.

What is his growth potential? Franklin is still young with room to grow as a route runner and with his hands. He could also stand to add more weight as long as it doesn’t come at the cost of his speed. As it stands, he’s young, fast, and productive, all things that suggest future growth.

Does he have positional versatility? Franklin can line up at any receiver alignment, and he also has some special teams experience. He had 88 snaps on Oregon’s kickoff return unit between 2022 and 2023.

Why the Patriots? New England needs a receiver who can line up outside and who can threaten defenses deep. Franklin checks both boxes. He should be available when the Patriots pick in the second round.

Why not the Patriots? Eliot Wolf’s father and the general managers from that tree have been known to not take receivers who fall under the 195–200-pound threshold. Franklin weighed in at 176 pounds, a full 20 pounds short of that mark. If Eliot is anything like his father, Franklin won’t be on New England’s board. Additionally, New England’s front office may get anxiety around picking someone with a similar athletic profile to Tyquan Thornton around the same spot in the draft.

One-sentence verdict: Troy Franklin is fast, young, and productive enough to have Pro Bowl upside while having weight and hand concerns that could drop him off New England’s board.

What do you think about Troy Franklin as a potential Patriots target? Could he be a great addition to New England’s receiving corps? Or would other wide receivers be a better fit? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.