Troy Franklin Plans to be Active in AFC Championship Game, but Some Bad News Remains

The Broncos have Troy Franklin trending towards being active on Sunday. However, the Broncos Depth Chart adds some concern and risk to his outlook.

Dec 14, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos wide receiver Troy Franklin (11) celebrates a touchdown during the third quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Broncos have seen their Wide Receiver Depth Chart in some turmoil. In the Divisional Round, Troy Franklin suffered a hamstring injury, thus making him questionable to play in the AFC Championship Game. In tandem to that, Pat Bryant became concussed in the same game. However, good news is out that shows Franklin trending towards playing while Bryant cleared protocol. Today, our focus enlies with Franklin. We will tell you both his expected game status, and workload to be seen.

Fantasy Football Impact

#Broncos injury report. It appears Pat Bryant has cleared concussion protocol and should be good for game Sunday. Troy Franklin still limited. pic.twitter.com/1muvOa0hfE

— MikeKlis9NEWS (@mikeklis9news) January 22, 2026

Early in the season, Franklin was a hot commodity. Through about half of the season, Franklin had been leading the Broncos in Red Zone Targets. For a time, he lead the team in Total Targets. In the second half, Franklin did fall off a bit, leaving way to Pat Bryant to fringe on WR2 status.

Despite a downtick, Franklin has maintained to very much be a factor. Since the Broncos Week 12 bye, Franklin is averaging (3.8) Targets per Game. In that same time, Bryant has played just four games, but is averaging (6.0) Targets per Game.

What I am getting at here is that Franklin, if active, will be the teams WR3. Bryant is the WR2. Nonetheless, an active Franklin will see a full workload if active, thus being expected to linger around (4) Targets in an average. That should net an average of (3) Receptions, being an expected output of 35-40 Yards.

Good news for Franklin is that he has also maintained some Red Zone involvement. His Target Share is dipped, but he does have (4) Red Zone Targets across those six games. His probability to be targeted in the Red Zone this week should be above 50%.

Start 'Em Debate: Troy Franklin

When playing DFS, Franklin will be a tad risky. You are hoping for (3) Receptions for (35) Yards, or more. However, that would only near on 1x of DFS salary. We are more so hoping for a Touchdown. Despite being active in the Red Zone, Franklin's probability to score is only going to be about 15%, or so.

Another under-the-radar factor to consider is that of Marvin Mims Jr. He exploded for (8) Receptions with Franklin and Bryant being out of the game last week. Given his production, and the duo's absence from much of weekly practice, Mims Jr. will surely have an elevated role. To what elevation, we do not know, but elevated for sure.

Given all of these factors, I would consider Franklin to have elevated risk. Surely, he is viable in Playoff Fantasy Football. You likely are spread thin, so you have little choice. In my analysis, Franklin is more of a non-play in DFS. My pecking order for Broncos Wide Receivers, outside of Courtland Sutton, would be: Pat Bryant, Marvin Mims Jr., Troy Franklin.

Troy Franklin Injury Update

Franklin was limited in practice on Wednesday. He has remained limited since then, now being Saturday. The fact that he has been partaking means that he will likely be active. This game means a lot, and that will exponentially increase the odds of playing.

I would fully expect Franklin to play and all I would now do is consider him to have elevated risk. Is he 100? Likely not. Is he playing as the WR2? No. WR3? Maybe not, to be honest. Can he get re-injured? Surely a non-zero shot. These factors shy me off of Franklin. Nonetheless, he will very likely be active.