Watch Troy Franklin closely the next time he makes a big play.

The Broncos wide receiver lets his emotions take control in celebration. Like after his 16-yard catch-and-run in the red zone last Sunday against the Colts to set up a touchdown. Franklin clenched both fists with arms flexed. He leaned forward and let out a roar.

“I’ve always been a guy that plays with passion,” Franklin told The Denver Gazette from his locker room stall at Broncos Park. “That’s pretty much what it is. I make a play and that’s the first thing that comes to mind. It’s not like a planned thing.”

But he always planned for this to happen — emerging as one of the Broncos’ top receiving options in his second NFL season. Franklin set career bests last week with a team-high in targets (nine), receptions (eight) and receiving yards (89) while also scoring a touchdown.

Franklin’s top highlight resulted from a broken play. Quarterback Bo Nix scrambled outside the pocket when Franklin abandoned his route and took off down the near sideline. Nix found him for a 42-yard completion essentially playing backyard football.

“I saw him rolling out my way, and I really didn’t feel my defender on me,” Franklin said. “I kind of just felt like nobody had taken the downfield part. … The unscripted plays are pretty fun, for sure.”

The Broncos (1-1) play the Chargers (2-0) on Sunday at SoFi Stadium in a return to Franklin’s home state of California. His dream to play in the NFL started at Menlo-Atherton High School near Palo Alto. But did that goal feel within reach growing up?

“Yeah, I would say so,” Franklin told The Denver Gazette. “But I really didn’t even know how people got to college and how scholarships worked and all that.”

Jenna Carson, a longtime teacher at Menlo-Atherton, is also the public school’s academic advisor for the football team. Carson first met Franklin as an incoming freshman.

“Troy always walked with a sense of confidence,” Carson told The Denver Gazette. “Certainly, about his athletic abilities, but even about his future and what his plan was going to be. In other ways, he was a very typical ninth grader. … He had hot pink tips on his hair, and he ate hot Cheetos most of the time. We used to joke: ‘If you’re really going to go do this thing in college and the NFL, you might need to change your diet a little bit.’”

Yet Franklin’s football talent proved undeniable. He started in games as a freshman, and one year later, he led Menlo-Atherton to the school’s first football state championship in 2018.

“It got to the point where we were just hiking him the ball and letting him run,” longtime Menlo-Atherton athletic director Paul Snow told The Denver Gazette. “He blossomed as a sophomore and a junior. Just kind of led by example and really carried the team, which is normally not a wide receiver who does that. But he did it and was a great captain.”

Franklin became one of the nation’s top-ranked wide receiver prospects with more than 20 scholarship offers from colleges from across the country. He committed to Oregon in the summer before his senior season right in the midst of COVID-19 restrictions. His academic plans changed when Menlo-Atherton postponed all fall sports to the spring.

Franklin put in the extra work to graduate a semester early and enroll that spring at Oregon.

“I can tell you a lot of kids were not successful with online learning. He’s not from a background or an area that had great Wi-Fi,” Carson said. “It was a pretty rocky space to be in COVID. So, it took extra dedication. Finding a space where he was able to work. Showing up online or in-person depending on what was available. Getting help. Then, really not having a graduation, right? Because it was pretty anticlimactic at that point. … I brought the cap and gown to his house, just so he would have it and could feel like he did it, before heading off to Oregon.”

Franklin did not forget Carson’s role in making his college football dream a reality. In 2024, after three standout seasons at Oregon, Franklin hosted an NFL draft party with Carson in attendance.

“Because in high school, she was one of the people that helped me from my freshman year to college,” Franklin said. “Just somebody that I remember always being there for me and helping me when I was struggling.”

Carson told The Denver Gazette: “Troy has a very small circle. So, it felt like a privilege to be included. … The pride is tremendous.”

NFL success didn’t happen overnight.

The Broncos drafted Franklin No. 102 overall (fourth round) in 2024 and he faced a steep learning curve. Franklin logged only four catches for 9 yards entering Week 5. Wide receiver Courtland Sutton often sat next to Franklin during team meetings and film review sessions.

“He’s always taken coaching really well, even last year,” Sutton said. “Stuff would happen, and Troy was always (saying): ‘Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.’ There was never any attitude, and he was always willing to learn.”

Franklin told The Denver Gazette: “I think last year I probably had a little bit of a problem receiving the information I was getting. Maybe because it was just so new and it was being delivered to me in a different way. But now, I’m just taking all the coaching in and listening.”

Franklin finished his rookie season with 28 catches for 263 yards and two touchdowns. He also scored on a 43-yard touchdown during the AFC Wild Card playoff loss to the Bills. The hype for a second-year jump began in training camp with a stronger frame at 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds.

Veteran wide receiver Trent Sherfield signed in March with Denver in free agency. He became most impressed by Franklin’s speed, route running and ability to play multiple receiver positions.

“I think his study habits have increased, and I think that’s he’s more comfortable with the playbook,” Sherfield told The Denver Gazette. “I don’t know exactly what happened last year. But I can definitely see that he’s just maturing in a lot of ways, when it comes to just knowing his assignments and playing fast.”

Games against the Titans and Colts is a small sample size. But Franklin is quickly becoming a favorite target for Nix, the quarterback. Franklin enters Week 3 against the Colts with 81 receiving yards from the slot this season, according to Next Gen Stats, ranking him No. 8 among all NFL wide receivers.

“I think he’s starting to develop into the player that everybody ultimately knows he can become,” Nix said of Franklin, his former college teammate at Oregon. “I’ve mentioned he looks as comfortable and confident as he looked in college. I think that’s starting to show, and I knew he always was going to have that in him. … I expect just consistency from him. And I know he’s going to give us everything he has.”

Coach Sean Payton added: “A lot of times, they’re in an offense (in college) where they may just line up to the left side of the formation their whole game and occasionally come inside to the slot to the left. Then coming into the NFL where they’re moved around — and you’re ‘X’ or ‘Z’ — sometimes that transition takes a bit. Troy (was) the same way at Oregon. He’s handled it well, and I’ve been really impressed with his camp and these first two weeks.”

The folks back at Menlo-Atherton have noticed, too.

Carson recently texted Franklin: You look like you’re having so much fun.

“I think I’m definitely getting back to having fun,” Franklin said. “I think I’m back to almost like my Oregon self, you know? Just being out there every play and seeing the ball, seeing some touches and just making plays for my team. We’re almost there for sure.”

However, in some ways, Franklin is still the same eager high school football player with big NFL dreams. Some things never change.

Like his taste for hot Cheetos.

“I had a bag last night,” Franklin said.