Bo Nix can be heard yelling on the other end of the phone.
“Big dog! He’s a Bronco!,” the Broncos first-round quarterback out of Oregon is saying in a video shared by the NFL. “Man, I’m so excited for you, bro. I’m so excited. Like, it couldn’t have worked out more perfect. I’m so excited, dude. They’re getting a steal.”
Troy Franklin is more relieved than anything, but his new reality is setting in, too. Franklin, the former Ducks wide receiver, thought he might get picked in the second round or at least on Friday. So, too, did the Broncos.
Troy Franklin and Bo Nix, reunited. pic.twitter.com/Vu0spEJ6v7
— Parker Gabriel (@ParkerJGabriel) April 27, 2024
Instead, he was sitting there when the third round ended. Coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton knew they could move up when they went home for the night on Friday. They knew they’d have to get the 6-foot-3, 176-pound wide receiver.
“The two of us looked at him and knew it was going to be impossible for us to wait,” Payton said. “When the day ends, there are always these six players around the league that you feel like are going to go pretty quickly (the next day).”
By the time the sun rose they’d committed to not waiting.
The Broncos landed Saturday’s second pick, No. 102 overall, and drafted Franklin, who over two years playing with Nix at UO caught 142 passes for 2,247 yards and 23 touchdowns.
They tore it up together in the Pacific Northwest.
Next challenge: The AFC West.
Payton on Thursday night talked about all how NFL teams try to make life easier on the quarterback, particularly a young one. Play good defense. Run the ball. Payton called Broncos center Alex Forsyth, whom Nix lined up behind almost exclusively in the shotgun in 2022 at Oregon, the quarterback’s “warm and fuzzy blanket” as he learns to play from under center. So Franklin is similar, right? A familiar face and familiar tempo running routes as you learn to face NFL defenses?
Actually, not so much. The coach painted Denver’s decision to select Franklin as, if not entirely about talent, then almost entirely.
“There was a lot more coincidence to that,” Payton said of adding Oregon’s top receiver to Oregon’s quarterback in Denver’s draft haul. “That is just how this draft unfolds sometimes.”
Denver moved up because Payton and Paton saw Franklin the same way Nix did in the fourth round: A steal.
Franklin, of course, knew right away what getting the call from the Broncos meant.
“Just feelings of joy. I’m relaxed now. I just wanted to get my name called,” he told reporters moments after being picked. “It’s a blessed feeling. I’m grateful to be selected. I don’t even know what to say right now. It is just a dream come true. I’m so glad that somebody just gave me a chance, the Broncos gave me a chance to go out there and showcase my talent and do whatever I need to do to help the team.
“It’s very great to be back with my guy who I played with in college.”
By the time Franklin had been picked, Nix had been to Denver, done a whirlwind tour, interviews and more and got back on the plane to Alabama. The first chance they’ll have to be on the field together is in a couple of weeks for rookie minicamp.
Now that they’re both pros, though, Payton said they’ll benefit from being on the journey together but also walk their own paths. He pointed out the Broncos also drafted teammates from Utah in edge Jonah Elliss and wide receiver Devaughn Vele.
“When it’s a quarterback and receiver, it certainly can’t hurt,” Payton said. “But I think as they leave the college game where they were stars and starters in their own right, they begin a new journey. I think maybe a couple of years, three years down the road, hopefully you’ll be able to see it.
“I know a lot is made of the cohesiveness and all of that, but when they arrive here, they start all over.”
So this wasn’t the plan, or at least not exactly.
But hey, it worked out in a way that everybody’s happy with.
“Listen, we were excited,” Payton said. “Obviously, after picking Bo, I think both (Paton and I) felt like (Franklin) was going to be taken in the second round. Then we begin working through these scenarios.”
The end result: A happy reunion that Nix and Franklin hope is just the start of a new journey.
Broncos sign rookie CB. Denver on Sunday continued adding college free agents, signing Nebraska cornerback Quinton Newsome, sources told The Post. Newsome is getting $85,000 in guaranteed money and a $15,000 signing bonus. He started 34 games for the Huskers in his career and joins NU safety Omar Brown and several others as college free agent signings by Denver.
Mines’ Matocha gets invite. Colorado School of Mines’ record-setting QB John Matocha got a Broncos minicamp invite after his illustrious college career, the school announced. Matocha won the Harlon Hill trophy in 2022 and finished his career leading Mines to two Division II title games and throwing for 162 touchdown passes.