Bold predictions are one of the great traditions of the NFL offseason. Fans call in, text in and post online with the kind of confident forecasts that make training camp coverage more entertaining.
Some of them turn out to be prophetic. Most of them turn out to be wildly off base. And every now and then, one lands somewhere in the middle, bold enough to grab attention, but not quite grounded enough to survive scrutiny.
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On a recent edition of “Stokley and Evans, with Mark Schlereth” on 104.3 The Fan, one listener’s prediction ran directly into that reality check.
Fill-in host John Davis pulled the prediction off the text line and read it out loud.
“How about this one from the RamosLaw.com text line: Troy Franklin finished second in receiving yards for the Denver Broncos?” Davis said.
Franklin has been a legitimately productive player through his first two NFL seasons. He’s had 65 catches for 972 yards and eight touchdown; that’s real production for a young wide receiver who has been operating largely as a second and third option in the offense. His development has been a bright spot for the Broncos, and the case for him taking another step forward in year three has genuine merit.
But finishing second on the team in receiving yards? That’s where the prediction started to lose the room.
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Mark Schlereth didn’t sugarcoat his reaction.
“That’s just a dumb prediction, not a bold prediction,” Schlereth said.
Davis pushed back to get the reasoning on record.
“Why is that dumb?” Davis asked.
Schlereth had his answer ready.
“He’s not gonna get those opportunities. Those opportunities are gonna go to Courtland Sutton and Jaylen Waddle,” Schlereth said.
That’s the structural reality of the offense the Broncos are entering the season with. Sutton is coming off the best stretch of his career and just landed inside the NFL’s top-100 players list for the first time. Waddle was acquired specifically to become a top-two option in the passing game, a speed threat with elite route-running who Sean Payton is going to design entire game plans around. Those two names are going to command the overwhelming majority of the target share when both are healthy and on the field.
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That’s how modern NFL offenses work. The No. 1 and No. 2 receivers get the volume. The No. 3and below fight over what’s left.
Schlereth then closed the argument with the practical math of a receiver room that suddenly has more mouths to feed than snaps to distribute.
“You’re gonna be fighting time at that third wide receiver – I just don’t think there’s gonna be that many opportunities for him,” Schlereth said.
Franklin isn’t alone in the competition for the third receiver role. Marvin Mims brings explosive playmaking ability in specific packages. Pat Bryant offers a different physical profile after a promising rookie season.
And it doesn’t end there. Evan Engram remains a matchup weapon out of the tight end room who could demand his own share of targets if he takes a step up.
Even if Franklin wins that internal battle, he’s still going to be operating in a role that caps his ceiling well below whatever number Sutton or Waddle produces.
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Franklin’s future is bright. But finishing second on the team in receiving yards would require injuries, target-distribution shifts and role changes that simply don’t align with how this offense is being built.
The prediction was ambitious. It just wasn’t realistic. And Schlereth wasn’t willing to let it slide by unchallenged.