Troy Franklin had to wait a little longer than he’d hoped, but will join up with a familiar face after being drafted Saturday by the Denver Broncos.
Franklin, an East Palo Alto product who played at Menlo-Atherton and collegiately at Oregon, was an early Day 3 selection in the fourth round, No. 102 overall. Denver also took Franklin’s college quarterback, Bo Nix, with the 12th overall pick in Friday’s first round.
“I don’t even know what to say right now,” Franklin told reporters in Denver. “He makes the receivers’ job easier. That’s my guy right there.”
Projected on some quarters to be a second- or third-round pick, Franklin caught 81 passes for 1,383 yards and a 17.1 average with 14 touchdowns last season.
“I think all elements of my game are pretty sharp,” Franklin told reporters. “I feel like I can do everything.”
Safety Evan Williams, a teammate of Franklin’s at Oregon who played locally at St. Francis High in Mountain View, was also a fourth-round pick, No. 111 overall, by the Green Bay Packers.
Also selected Saturday was Sione Vaki, who played both safety and running back at Utah but was drafted as a running back by the Detroit Lions in the fourth round at No. 132 overall. Vaki played in high school at Liberty in Brentwood.
Cal safety Patrick McMorris was picked by Miami in the sixth round, No. 198 overall, with Stanford place kicker Joshua Karty also going in the sixth at No. 209 to the Los Angeles Rams.
A four-star recruit out of Menlo-Atherton, Franklin finished his high school career with 102 catches for 1,790 yards and 34 touchdowns despite having his senior season cancelled due to the pandemic.
Denver’s top receiver is Courtland Sutton (59 receptions for 772 yards and 10 touchdowns), who was the subject of trade rumors going into the draft but remains on the roster. With No. 2 receiver Jerry Jeudy traded to Cleveland for fifth- and sixth-round draft picks, the opportunity for playing time could come immediately.
At a shade under 6-foot-2 and 176 pounds, Franklin is slight of build but has game-breaking speed. He had an occasional issue with dropped passes, with nine in 13 games in his junior year in 2023.
The Broncos released starting quarterback Russell Wilson, who wasn’t a fit for new coach Sean Payton. Denver will go into camp with veteran reserve Jarrett Stidham, former New York Jets No. 2 overall pick and Nix in the quarterback room. Given his draft status, Nix would be expected to emerge as the starter at some point in the season if not right away.
Denver presents the opportunity for Franklin to play under one of the better offensive coaches in the NFL in Payton.
Sione Vaki of Liberty runs back an interception for a touchdown in 2018 against Pittsburg. Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group
Williams, 5-11, 206, played in 52 games with 48 starts with four seasons at Fresno State and playing his senior year at Oregon and told reporters why he thought he was an appealing prospect for the Packers.
“A lot of coaches on the staff just pointed to my motor and just how hard I’m going on each and every play,” Williams said. “I’m not one to brag about myself, but I think that in addition to the ball excellence, just being around the ball and kinda just causing havoc, I think that put me pretty high on their board.”
An effective blitzer, the Los Gatos native had five tackles for losses and 4 1/2 sacks and was named to the All-Pac 12 second team.
“He’s smart, he’s instinctive, he’s a good kid and he makes tackles,” Green Bay national scout Sam Seale told reporters. “I think he’ll fit into our locker room because he’s a good guy. We won’t have to worry about him.”
Williams’ father Garey played safety at Cal from 1981-85 and was on the kickoff return team for “The Play” in 1982 against Stanford. He received none of the five laterals that resulted in Kevin Moen’s game-winning touchdown.
Vaki, who grew up a fan of the 49ers, played both safety and running back for Utah last season but was seen by some teams as a defensive prospect. The Lions traded up to get him, sending picks No. 164 and 201 and a fourth round pick in 2025 to Philadelphia to move up to 132. Detroit also got back pick No 210 in the deal.
“When I came in I met with the off coordinator and the running backs coach so I assumed it was for the offensive side of the ball,” Vaki told reporters. “It was nerve wracking for me not knowing which teams or what side I’d be picked up, but I’m grateful to come to the Motor City and get started.”
Vaki had two sacks, an interception and 51 tackles in 12 starts at safety last season. As a fill-in running back and wildcat quarterback, Vaki averaged 7.5 yards per carry (317 yards on 42 carries) with two touchdowns and caught 11 passes for 203 yards (18.5 yards per catch).
At Liberty, Vaki was the Bay Area News Group’s Offensive Player of the Year as a receiver in 2018, catching 70 passes for 1,393 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior as Liberty went 13-1 and won the school’s first Division I-A championship.
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His role will be largely special teams, with the Lions having the NFL’s fifth-ranked rushing attack and returning running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.
McMorris, who played his 2023 season at Cal after transferring from San Diego State, had 4 1/2 tackles for losses and five passes defensed in 13 games for the Bears. In all, McMorris played in 55 collegiate games with 40 starts.
In his senior year at Stanford, Karty was 23 of 27 on field goal attempts, including 4 of 7 from 50 yards or more with a long of 56. He also made all 21 of his extra point attempts and can handle kickoff duties for the Rams as well.
The Rams struggled on place kicks in 2023, using Lucas Havrisik and Brett Favre and converting 32 of 43 attempts (74.4 percent). Karty converted at a 91.1 percent rate in his last two years at Stanford.
