Broncos

Broncos WR Troy Franklin is entering the second year of his career after being a fourth-round pick in 2024. Franklin learned he needs to build confidence in practice and stay calm in games. 

“It was just about me calming my mind down, going out there, trusting my process, trusting what the coaches tell me, our film and the things we’ve done in practice,” Franklin said, via Aric DiLalla of the team’s site. “It really does start with making the plays in practice. That helps a lot.”

Franklin only recorded 28 receptions for 263 yards and two touchdowns last season. He thinks his first touchdown reception in Week 6 helped improve his mindset.  

“We didn’t finish [the season] how we wanted to, but for me, personally, I caught a touchdown [and] my confidence was definitely up,” Franklin said. “Most definitely, it gave me a good [mindset] to go into the offseason and get to work.”

Broncos HC Sean Payton sees Franklin playing “faster” and with better awareness. 

“There’s that [saying that] repetition is the mother of learning,” Payton said. “You’re seeing him play faster with a much greater awareness within each play. He’s extremely explosive, and I think he’s, I would say, five pounds heavier. A little thicker. He’s had a good spring.”

Bo Nix

Broncos QB Bo Nix has left his mark on the team following his rookie season. Denver S Brandon Jones said he loves Nix’s demeanor as their starting quarterback. 

“I love that,” Jones said, via BroncosWire. “I never wanted to be somewhere where a quarterback is kind of shy or to himself. I think if a quarterback can show that ‘dawg’ mentality, that goes a long ways for me and it keeps us battling. It keeps the competition super healthy and very competitive. I’ve liked what I’ve seen from him in that standpoint.”

Jones has seen Nix stepping up as a leader going into Year 2 of his career. 

“I have, and I’ve seen his overall comfort level on the field,” Jones said. “You can see he’s doing a really good job of trying to diagnose the defense, which goes a super long way especially as a quarterback. A lot of young quarterbacks kind of struggle with that early on. He’s done a really good job of dissecting the defense, and figuring out what we are playing and making the right checks that he needs to make. He’s definitely made a lot of strides.”

Raiders

After his first offseason program with the team, Raiders third-round CB Darien Porter left an impression on the staff. Las Vegas ST coordinator Tom McMahon emphasized Porter’s speed he showed during their first practices. 

“When you’ve played six years in college and you got that many reps, it’s practice and he plays fast,” McMahon said, via Levi Edwards of the team’s website. “He’s a big player that plays really, really fast. He’s detailed and he’s got a lot of [traits] we can’t teach what he can do.”

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