Troy Franklin makes a ton of sense for the Chiefs
Tyler Brown
It was reported that the Chiefs were open to trading up in the 2023 draft before calling defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah’s name at the Union Station podium. The problem the Chiefs find themselves in these days is no one wants to strike a deal with the Chiefs because they are tired of them winning.
With this being the case, the Chiefs would have to overpay to secure a deal. With general manager Brett Veach unwilling to do so, they wound up taking the best player available on their draft board with Anudike-Uzomah. Oregon star wide receiver Troy Franklin could have the Chiefs in the same position in this year's draft.
While we cannot say for certain but it is somewhat likely that the K-State pass rusher would have been available at pick 40. While the Chiefs and Clark Hunt probably felt some pressure to make a pick with the draft being in Kansas City, it could have behooved them to trade back eight or so spots and select Anudike-Uzomah in the second round. That is easier said than done, I know.
However, according to most trade value charts, this could have netted them an additional top-100 pick while ending up with a player that they valued anyway. Once all of the Chiefs' first-round graded prospects disappear, they could look at trading back to select a player and gain a low third or high fourth-rounder all while selecting a player in a similar tier that they would have selected at 32 anyway.
Most teams' draft boards have roughly 20 first-round graded players and with the Chiefs picking at the bottom every year, it would be wise to cash in as many day-two players as possible. Taking more bites of the apple gives you more of an opportunity when you are drafting prospects that are far from a sure thing.
There are a few players the Chiefs could trade back for. Left tackle Kingsley Suamaitia and cornerback T.J. Tampa are players that come to mind high in the second round. The big one that stands out to me though is Franklin.
Countless successful receivers get drafted in the second round and with the Rashee Rice situation and Hollywood Brown only signed for 2024, wideout is a big need both this season and in the future. If the Chiefs are sitting there at pick 32 and say some combination of Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell and Ladd McConkey are still available, that is a great sign that Franklin will still be there around pick 40.
If he is, the Chiefs could draft a guy in a similar tier while gaining another valuable draft pick to fill their offensive line and defensive interior needs. Franklin was once much higher on people's draft boards and it is sort of mystifying.
It seems like it has something to do with the players mentioned above blowing up the NFL Combine, but Franklin performed more than fine as well. The six-foot-three, 187-pound wide-out sprinted a 4.41 40 with a 39-inch vertical while posting elite shuttle times. What stood out most to people was his struggle in the gauntlet drill when he seemed to get eaten up a bit by the passes coming in.
One knock on Franklin is that he had a 10 percent drop rate in 2023, but that was more of an outlier. In 2023 he put up ridiculous numbers, tallying 81 catches on just 114 targets. With his ball tracking and explosive playmaking ability, he wound up with 1,383 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Drops are never fun to deal with, but if they are an issue, fans will get over it if he is putting up numbers, similar to Rice’s drop issues last season, which people have largely forgotten about. Drops can be a year-to-year type of stat, not exactly an indicator of years to come.
He has a similar frame and strengths as Marquez Valdez-Scantling, except he has much more nuance to his game. Valdez-Scantling is a fast vertical threat, but has a limited route tree, and is primarily just a straight-line route runner. Franklin gets to top speed in a hurry after making quick releases off of cornerbacks on the line of scrimmage. He can make people miss after the catch too, which Valdez-Scantling lacks.
The other knock is his skinnier frame, but in the Andy Reid offense, you are not asked to make contested catches too often. Most of the time you are schemed open and can avoid contact. With that being said, if you watched Oregon football at all last season, Franklin is not afraid to go up and get it. He seems like a tough player and is a willing blocker.
He can step in for the Chiefs immediately and fill the hole that was left behind by Valdez-Scantling and has a much higher ceiling doing it. He compliments the Chiefs' current pass catchers perfectly with him taking over the X position along the line of scrimmage. Rice then can still occupy the slot to display his yards after the catch ability. Brown can be Andy Reid’s do-it-all, Tyreek Hill-type player, running in motion while running both deep and intermediate routes.
Franklin is getting lost in the draft media world in this deep wide receiver class and it honestly would not be a shocker if a team fell in love with him and selected him later on in the first round. It also would not shock me if the Chiefs go ahead and select him at pick 32 either. It depends on whether Worthy, Mitchell and McConkey are also available and who they like more. Even when you try to trade back you still have to have a dance partner, so they may have to make a decision.
With Franklins' speed and versatility to play in the slot or outside, he may be too good to pass up. He is an explosive play waiting to happen, which is something the Chiefs sorely lacked last season. Chiefs Kingdom has been dreaming of a big, traditional X receiver for years now. The Chiefs never select sign that type of player, so part of me worries if they did go that route. When in doubt, it is probably best just to give Reid and Patrick Mahomes more speed and explosiveness to play with. Franklin fits that bill of a “Chiefsy” receiver perfectly and they may be able to get more draft capital in the process, due to it being such a deep class.
