👋 Good Morning!

Before we hype up Troy Franklin, I just briefly wanted to give a little shoutout to Jarrett Stidham. The Broncos backup quarterback has balled out over the last two preseason games and honestly looks more competent than a handful of current starters around the NFL.

Obviously he’s a competitor and surely would prefer to be ‘the guy’ somewhere. But by all accounts he’s been a phenomenal teammate and good dude to be around in the locker room.

If you ask me, he’s living the dream. Right now everybody thinks he rules but he won’t really have to validate it in the regular season. He gets to be on a contending team with none of the pressure. He gets to look handsome on the sidelines and wear the uniform without taking any hits.

Football fans are emotional and fickle. If I’ve learned anything, though, there’s never a more universally liked guy than an overqualified backup QB. I’d lean into it and enjoy the ride if I were him. Plus, you never know what can happen. The Broncos needed Bubby Brister to start four games in 1998 and Brock Osweiler to start seven in 2015. It’s good to gave a guy like him around.

— Justin Michael

Troy Franklin looks like a man who is ready to make a leap in his sophomore season.

The athletic wide receiver out of Oregon has had a really strong camp and is coming off of a two-touchdown performance in Saturday’s preseason win over Arizona. As Sean Payton said postgame, it’s happening for Franklin, and I’m excited.

After a bit of a slow burn out of the gate, Franklin had some nice flashes over his rookie year, including a 44-yard touchdown in the wild card round. It feels like the 6-foot-3, 180-pound speedster is showing he can be more than just a deep threat though. He’s looking like a legitimate three-down option.

The Broncos might not have the biggest names in the league lining up out wide. They don’t have someone like Ja’Marr Chase or Justin Jefferson who is widely recognized as a top 3 player at the position. But the receiving corps is quietly starting to come together really nicely thanks to the work the team has done in the draft.

Marvin Mims is a versatile weapon who the Broncos get the ball to in a lot of different ways. Courtland Sutton has been Mr. Dependable over the years. And Franklin looks like the real deal as well. That’s not even including some key free agent moves like finally shoring up the tight end position with Evan Engram. By the way, didn’t he look good as well?

The depth of the roster is by far the best that it’s been post-Manning era. I’m so pumped to see what this team can do this fall. In recognition of my adopted family in section 535 and the two gentleman I’ve heard scream this for two decades, “I believe in the Denver Broncos”.

Check out this great piece from Zac Stevens which has a lot more details and quotes from Franklin’s big night.

RJ Harvey looked great against the Cardinals. It sounds like he’s starting to figure things out at the next level.

READ: Why RJ Harvey wasn’t feeling too excited after his 1st touchdown with the Broncos | by Henry Chisholm

The joy might not last very long given the upcoming schedule, but the Rox have won five of six and are coming off a three-game sweep over the Diamondbacks that featured multiple dramatic comeback wins.

They’re not a good team by any means. This squad of up-and-comers has actually been really fun since the All-Star break though. I’d love to play spoilers and be a nuisance for the rest of the NL West over the final five weeks of the season.

CSU has found their own version of Taysom Hill. Maybe Sean Payton will want to catch a game in FoCo this fall.

READ: Meet Tahj Bullock: ‘Mr. Do-it-all’ for the CSU Rams | by Justin Michael