Broncos general manager George Paton said John Franklin-Myers plays with a “relentless motor.”

New York Jets radio analyst and former defensive lineman Marty Lyons said he gives “100% every play.”

There is a backstory about Franklin-Myers, the defensive end acquired last week by the Broncos from the Jets, and how he got to be like that.

When Franklin-Myers was growing up in Greenville, Texas, he lived with his grandfather, Billy Ray Myers. He had adopted young John and his sister Alexis Myers-Vega and moved them from their native California after their mother died and they had been in foster care for more than six months. John was then in his early years of elementary school.

“He was one of the most influential people in my life,’’ Franklin-Myers told The Denver Gazette. “The thing that sticks out the most is him telling me to just never give up. … That’s just not what I do. I never give up. That is something that has stuck with me.”

It has especially remained with Franklin-Myers since he was in the ninth grade and his 72-year-old grandfather died in February 2011 of sarcoma, an aggressive cancer. And since 2022, Franklin-Myers has served as an awareness ambassador for the Sarcoma Foundation of America.

“After he passed, I can kind of look back on my life and try to remember some of those lessons and things that he taught me,’’ Franklin-Myers said. “That’s kind of given me an opportunity to use this platform to be able to raise awareness for (sarcoma).”

Franklin-Myers has worked with kids who have sarcoma. He has been involved in a number of other charitable endeavors, including through his John Franklin-Myers Family Foundation. The foundation over the past four years has hosted free football camps twice a year in his hometown of Greenville, an hour northeast of Dallas. The next one is May 31-June 1.

Franklin-Myers and his agent, Cliff Brady, have talked to Broncos officials about ways the lineman can help in the community. But there also, of course, is football to deal with for Franklin-Myers, entering his sixth NFL season.

The Broncos agreed April 27, during the third and final day of the draft, to acquire Franklin-Myers from the Jets for a 2026 sixth-round pick. Franklin had flown in that day for a physical and remained in Denver for a few days before returning to Texas, where he must now take care of some business.

Franklin-Myers said it will be “a couple of weeks” before he returns to Denver. He said he probably won’t be at the first session of voluntary organized team activities, running from May 21-23. But he is said to be keeping in good shape, and he has the blessing of the Broncos to not immediately report.

You better believe Franklin-Myers, 27, is excited to put on a Broncos uniform. He wore 91 for the Jets the past five seasons but defensive end Matt Henningsen has that number for Denver, so he will switch to 98.

“I’m looking forward to it,’’ he said about moving on to Denver. “It’s another opportunity to grow, another opportunity to impose my will. … I play with a physicality people don’t want to match and aren’t willing to match.”

The 6-foot-4, 288-pound Franklin-Myers was selected in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams after starring at small-college Stephen F. Austin State in Nacogdoches, Texas. As a rookie, he played in all 16 regular-season games and all three playoff games and had a sack of Tom Brady in the Rams’ 13-3 loss to New England in Super Bowl LIII.

Franklin-Myers was surprisingly cut by the Rams before the 2019 season before being claimed by the Jets. He ended up on injured reserve in 2019 but eventually became a fixture on the Jets’ defense. In the past three seasons, Franklin-Myers started all 50 games he played while recording 14.5 sacks and being tough against the run.

“He can play against the run and he can get to the quarterback,’’ said Lyons, a defensive lineman with the Jets from 1979-89 and the team’s longtime radio analyst. “He’s a guy that you can leave him in on first, second and third down. … He’s a good locker-room guy.”

But on April 1, the Jets acquired outside linebacker Haason Reddick from Philadelphia, picking up his base salary of $14.25 million. Franklin-Myers was under contract at the time through 2025, with $3.184 million of his $13.3 million base salary guaranteed for 2024 and none of his $14.35 million base salary guaranteed for 2025.

“I was working out and I got a call from (Jets general manager) Joe Douglas and he just said they traded for Hassan and that was that,’’ Franklin-Myers said. “(Douglas said), ‘So, if we could figure out something trade-wise, that would be the best opportunity for both parties.”’

Douglas later told reporters it was “difficult” to part with Franklin-Myers.

“When we made the trade for Haason, we knew it would be next to impossible to keep ‘JFM’ at his salary,’’ Douglas said. “I can’t tell you how much I love JFM as a person and a player. … Denver got a hell of a player.”

After New York’s acquisition of Reddick, Brady was given permission to talk to teams about a trade for Franklin-Myers. He said there initially were three other teams, which he did not name, that had expressed interest before the Broncos came on strong.

“I’ve known George Paton a long time and I got him to look at some film,’’ Brady said. “He got (head coach) Sean (Payton) to look at some film and got (defensive coordinator) Vance (Joseph) to look at some film. It took about three weeks to really figure it out.

“The Broncos were like maybe number four on our list (initially). … But I can’t tell you how many times (in talks) that George and Sean and Vance and JFM and I used the word ‘vision.’ That was before we talked money. It was all about the vision and that really sold the thing.”

Denver’s vision included Franklin-Myers lining up in Denver’s 3-4 scheme next to nose tackle D.J. Jones with Zach Allen as the other defensive end. Franklin-Myers eventually agreed to a two-year, $15 million contract with Denver, with $10 million guaranteed.

“We talked to Sean Payton, George Paton and Vance during the process and I heard the vision, heard the excitement in their voices, and it made that decision definitely a little easier,’’ Franklin-Myers said. “You definitely want to go somewhere that you feel wanted. It’s just another opportunity to go out there and do my thing. That was hard to pass up.”

The trade was announced April 29. Three days later, Franklin-Myers, responded to a comment by a fan on X about his Denver salary, writing that the Jets “didn’t offer me anything close to this.”

Actually, the Jets, who have on their roster promising second-year defensive end Will McDonald, never made a formal offer on a new deal for Franklin-Myers to stay. But Franklin-Myers knew they wouldn’t have been willing to pay what the Broncos did.

“They gave us that opportunity to seek an opportunity that we were going to probably make more money,’’ Franklin-Myers said.

After leaving the Jets, Franklin-Myers said there “aren’t any hard feelings” toward them.

“I’m definitely grateful for them and grateful for my teammates, but business is business at the end of the day,’’ he said.

After the acquisition of Franklin-Myers, Paton was elated.

“He is a player that we have always respected,’’ Paton said. “He is durable. … He can play all down the line of scrimmage. … We are excited to get him.”

Interestingly, Franklin-Myers comes from a team that had plenty of friction last year with the Broncos. Payton, in his first Broncos season, told USA Today last July that Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who was Denver’s coach in 2022, had done “one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL.”

In the interview, Payton also was critical of the Jets in general. And the Jets used that as a rallying cry before their 31-21 win at Denver on Oct. 8, 2023.

“I don’t care what somebody says,’’ Franklin-Myers said in looking back at the situation. “I don’t care what they do. I know that when it’s time to line up, it’s time to get physical and that’s what I’m about. Who cares about what the next person says and everybody has their own opinion about how things went down. But in my case, that’s none of my business. My job is to go out there and be physical and do whatever I can to help my team.”

While on the sideline that day, Franklin-Myers got a good look at Denver’s defense, which gave up 407 yards. Franklin-Myers pointed out that the defense did improve a good deal as the season progressed and now he plans to help it be even better.

“I’m going to help them make plays and it’s a good opportunity for everybody,’’ Franklin-Myers said. “I get a chance to learn from Zach, to learn from D.J. Jones. And with (outside linebackers) Jonathon Cooper and Baron Browning, those are guys I’ve been watching, been supporting. … We’re going to go out there and put our best foot forward and make the offense better and they’re going to make us better in practice.”

Speaking of the offense, the Broncos a week before acquiring Franklin-Myers picked up quarterback Zach Wilson from the Jets for the mere price of a swap of late-round draft picks. Wilson, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft who struggled in three New York seasons, will battle first-round pick Bo Nix and veteran Jarrett Stidham for the starting job.

“He gets a chance to get a fresh start, something I’m sure he’s looking forward to,’’ Franklin-Myers said. “It’s a good opportunity to learn from Sean Payton. … Zach’s a guy I’ve seen mature each and every day and he’s going to go out and put his best foot forward and he’s going to be a sponge throughout the process.”

Franklin-Myers will be reunited with Wilson later in offseason workouts. In the meantime, Brady has been making strides in looking to get his client involved in the Denver community.

Franklin-Myers, who has two young children, made it a practice last season of signing 20 miniature footballs and distributing them to kids in the stands before Jets home games. Representing his number, written on each ball was “91.0 JFM QB Hits.” Each ball had the date of the game and opponent. Franklin-Myers also would hand out to 10 adult fans before games a “91.0 JFM Quarterback Hits” T-shirt, which also were available for fans to buy.

“We’re trying to figure out now how we can track those balls when he gives those 20 balls away to 20 kids,’’ Brady said of talks to Broncos officials about plans for Franklin-Myers to distribute balls at home games with “98.0 JFM QB Hits” written on them. “Maybe we can put a QR code on the balls and kids can register and win his game-worn gloves for that particular week or a game-worn jersey or to put them in a (drawing) for playoff tickets if the Broncos make the playoffs.”

Franklin-Myers wants to work with youth in the Denver community. While he was with the Jets, Franklin-Myers teamed with the Marty Lyons Foundation, which helps kids who have a terminal illness, and donated money with each sack and tackle. And through his foundation he holds his football camp for two days twice a year, with one day at each for high school offensive and defensive linemen and the other day for kids ages 2 through 7.

“We’re seeing what we can do to help whomever is in need obviously,’’ he said.

Franklin-Myers also plans to continue his work in Denver with the Sarcoma Foundation of America. And when he takes the field for the Broncos, he will remember the lessons taught by his grandfather.

“I’m going to give it my all until my wheels fall off,’’ he said.